An illegal Chinese goldmine has been uncovered in Penguia Chiefdom, Kailahun District, Eastern Sierra Leone.

Reports claim that authorities have kept the existence of the 55 million US Dollar goldmine a secret for the past three years.

“The influx of Chinese Nationals in Districts and Counties is alarming,” said Jornalist Joel Cholo Brooks.

Brooks, the CEO of Global News Network in Liberia affirmed that the illegal mining activities involving Chinese is similar to that of Liberia. This, he furthered, has left locals worried.

Brooks, who is in Sierra Leone at current, claimed that authorities are not doing anything with regards the situation.

He noted that these illegal Chinese mining companies normally prey on the dire economy situation in the country by employing children and other poor locals with little safety procedures.

Decades ago, illegal diamond mining was used to fuel a decade civil war in Sierra Leone that left over 50 thousand dead and much of the country’s infrastructure in tatters.