106 - The International Resource Journal

120 AFRICA World Titanium Resourcesregulatory framework for mining is pretty good andthe people’s support for development is generallyvery high… in many ways, we regard the communityas our most important partner.”WTR has a solid corporate social responsibilityrecord in the country, including sponsoring AustralianDoctors for Africa and, most recently, implementinga procedure through which local peoplecan raise issues and concerns with the company.WTR aims to employ as many Malagasy as possiblein the construction and operation of the mine.A number of staff have been involved in theproject from the beginning, including WTR’s countrymanager. “It’s quite unusual for a company such asours to have that much continuity; often people areHe says it’s unusual for a junior companyto have such an experienced managementteam and strong investor base as WTR’s. “Wehave an investor register that has the capacityto put up the mine’s $200 million dollars; butthat’s not the way we want to fund the project,”he adds.The importance of peopleWTR has had little difficulty working in Madagascarand has forged a good relationship with the localcommunity. “Madagascar is definitely a less-developedcountry, which means you do sometimes havecapability challenges,” says Griffin. “However, itsin and out,” says Griffin. “It helps a lot, becauseit gives the locals someone with whom they associatethe project.”Looking forwardWTR is on target to finish securing the necessaryapprovals and funding in the first half of 2013,allowing construction to start with the aim of firstproduction by the end of 2014.“The reason for that accelerated timing isbecause Ranobe is a relatively simple project toexecute,” Griffin says. “Once we’ve got the approvalsand the money in the bank, there willfollow six months of design, pre-fabrication and