Sierra Rutile Ltd staff newsletter 3

APRIL 2013
2013 Q2 RUTILE PRODUCTION VERSUS TARGETS -
THRESHOLD, BUDGET AND STRETCH
FINAL-PRODUCT TRAILER GETS NEW LEASE OF LIFE
RUTILE, MT
30,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
36,462
33,037
31,442
8,241
8,659
9,556
13,865
11,956 12,563
13,041
11,245
11,816
The battered final-product trailer abandoned inside Sierra Rutile’s plant
site had become a familiar sight over the past 18 months. It had been
all but written-off, until the CEM team got their hands on it. Once in
their workshop, it was subjected to a two-week regime of
refurbishment and renovation, which included new lids, lights and
brakes, refurbished taps, and new side panels a well as a smart paint
job and the SRL logo. It is the first step in a programme of
refurbishment which will ensure that the Company’s 12 trailers have
safety lights, are rust-free, painted and logoed. Then the team will start
on the haulage tractor heads. Howard Gray, Transport Manager,
explains why the work is important: “Ensuring that our haulage fleet is
well maintained is vital for the safe and efficient functioning of the
mine. It also improves the image of the company, and lifts the morale
of the guys, with the added advantage of encouraging them to keep the
fleet clean and in good condition.”
5,000
4,491 4,491
0
Q2 Totals Apr May Jun
Actual Threshold Budget Stretch
SRL’S SECRET CARPENTERS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
In April we produced 4,491 Mt of Rutile which was below the budget, SGR product quality for the month was 93.9% TiO2.
CLEARING LAND FOR
COMMUNITY PROJECTS
The mammoth job of hammering out the beds, bookshelves, desks, wardrobes, chairs, tables and kitchen cabinets needed to furnish the campsite’s smart
new bachelors quarters and guest rooms has recently been completed by the carpentry division of the Facilities Maintenance Section of SRL. The five-man
team, headed up by carpentry workshop foreman, Mohamed Sheriff, makes and repairs a range of furniture for the mine. The carpentry unit is under the
supervision of the Facilities Maintenance Superintendent, Mr Brima Bangura who is responsible for the maintenance of all Sierra Rutile infrastructure
excluding the mechanical and electrical maintenance of the Plants.
Weighing in at 47 tonnes and with a 410 HP engine, Sierra Rutile’s new D9 dozer makes light work of even the toughest jobs, as several villages, who have
benefited from its ability to clear land for roads, playing fields and schools, can attest.
Clearing land is usually done by hand. It is back-breaking and often dangerous work that can take days, if not weeks to complete. The D9 however can clear
an acre in little over a lunch hour. Local villages have been quick to recognise its potential, and requests for help to clear land for community projects are
made either to the Community Affairs Department (CAD) or directly to the CEM team who often give up their free time, if not their lunch hours, to get the
job done.
In recent months, the D9 has been put to work clearing land for schools at Matagelema and Mosanesi, as well as for playing fields at the Children of the
Nations orphanage at Ngolala and Francis Mustapha’s school at Madina. Francis Mustapha is delighted with the help SRL has given him and says: “Without
the D9, clearing land for the playgrounds would have been hard labour”.
2012 – SIERRA RUTILE’S YEAR OF DELIVERY
CEO John Sisay describes 2012 as “a year of delivery” for Sierra Rutile with year-end results for 2012 (released April 25) showing a 39% increase in
rutile production, the successful completion of the Lanti Dry Mining project and the completion of the pre-feasibility study for the dry mining of
Gangama.
Commenting on the results Mr Sisay said: “The continued hard work and loyalty of our employees, as well as the support of our local communities,
the Government and people of Sierra Leone positions us well to enjoy many more years of the success we have experienced during 2012.”
NEW MINE ORIENTATION PROGRAMME
Intended to welcome all new permanent employees to the company and prepare them for their roles, the HR Department’s new mine orientation
programme, launched this month, is a 90-minute virtual tour of the mine that covers the essential ‘who’s who’ and ‘what’s where’ at SRL . It also
provides information on essential policies and procedures – leave, medical, disciplinary and whistle blowing to name just a few.