Four multinational mining companies [Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Mittal Steel (part of Arcelor Mittal) and Global Infrastructure Holdings (owned by Ispat, Essar)] have submitted bids to reopen the iron ore mines in the Nimba mountains of northern Liberia, which once provided the government with half its revenue...The mines...have been closed since 1990, shortly after Liberia plunged into a 14-year civil war...[Jonathan Mason, the Minister of Lands Mines and Energies] said: “We will make sure that only the best proposal is accepted so that our country's rich iron ore reserves are exploited in such a way that the revenues accrued will not only benefit the country, but also 25% of the profits from the ore will be used for developmental purposes of the existing communities…that is the demand of government”. [also refers to Repsol, Liberian-American-Swedish Minerals Company (LAMCO)]