Lanti Dry Mining Commissioning - Sierra Rutile Ltd
Written and produced for Sierra Rutile Ltd for the commissioning of the Lanti Dry Mine
Written and produced for Sierra Rutile Ltd for the commissioning of the Lanti Dry Mine
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<strong>Sierra</strong><strong>Rutile</strong>Limited<br />
Page 4<br />
LANTI DRY<br />
MINING PROJECT<br />
Page 13<br />
SIERRA RUTILE<br />
OUR HISTORY<br />
<strong>Sierra</strong><strong>Rutile</strong>Limited<br />
<strong>Sierra</strong>Ru9le, whichusuallysources equipmentandpartsfromtheUSAortheUK,brokenewgroundbyshipping<br />
theconcentratorandotherequipmentfortheprojectfromSouthAfrica,withthelackofaregularshippingroute<br />
betweenthetwocountriessome9mescomplica9ngtheprocess.<br />
Theprojectalsohadtocontendwiththe unusuallyheavy2012 rainyseason. Therainshamperedconstruc9on<br />
workandthetransporta9onofequipmentfromthe Portandstoragefacili9esatKissyDockyardinFreetownto<br />
<strong>Sierra</strong>Ru9le’sminingopera9onintheSouth‐WestoftheCountry.<br />
InNovember2012, despite theobstacles,theLan9<strong>Dry</strong><strong>Mining</strong>teamwasable tobegintes9ngthe concentrator<br />
unitaheadoftheiroriginal9meline.Workingatfullcapacity,theopera9onisexpectedtoprocessinexcessof3.5<br />
milliontonnesoforeannuallyor 500tonnesperhour,producing30,000to35,000tonnes ofnaturalru9le and<br />
6,000to9,000tonnesofilmeniteperannumforaperiodofatleastsevenyears.<br />
Withthe confidencegainedfromthesuccessfulcomple9onoftheLan9<strong>Dry</strong><strong>Mining</strong>Project,<strong>Sierra</strong>Ru9lestarts<br />
workontheconstruc9onofitsnextdryminingini9a9ve–theGangama<strong>Dry</strong><strong>Mining</strong>Project.Expectedtohavean<br />
averageannualproduc9onprofileof83,400tonnesofru9le,46,000tonnesofilmeniteand9,500tonnesofzircon<br />
concentrateoveralifeofsixyears,theGangamaProjectlookssettoequalthesuccessofitspredecessor.<br />
From op9mis9cbeginningstoafuture full<br />
of promise, the history of <strong>Sierra</strong> Ru9le is<br />
inextricablefromthatof<strong>Sierra</strong>Leone.<br />
The <strong>Sierra</strong> Ru9le tradi9on goes back to<br />
1962, ayear amer <strong>Sierra</strong> Leone gainedindependence<br />
from Great Britain, when a<br />
company called Sherbro Minerals began<br />
the explora9on and development of substan9alru9ledepositsintheSouth‐Westof<br />
theCountry.<br />
In1967,<strong>Sierra</strong>Leone’sfirstru9leminewas<br />
opened by the then Prime Minister, Sir<br />
Albert Michael Margai. The years that<br />
followed were a roller coaster for the<br />
Company, withseveral changesof ownershipandsignificantopera9onalchallenges.<br />
By 1993, the Company was at its peak,<br />
having become the world’s largest producer<br />
of natural ru9le, responsible for<br />
around 25% of world produc9on. However,itnowfacedanotherthreat.<br />
Thecivil<br />
unrest, which started in 1991, had escalated<br />
intowar and was spreading rapidly<br />
throughout<strong>Sierra</strong> Leone. In 1995, rebels<br />
aYackedthemine,kidnappedworkersand<br />
forcedit toclose. Itwas 11yearsbefore<br />
ru9le exports would begin again, with a<br />
shipmentof7,000tonneson15May2006.<br />
Intheinterim,theCompanyhadundergoneafullscalerefurbishmentcos9ngover$100 millionandhadlistedon<br />
theLondonStockExchange’sAlterna9veInvestmentMarket(AIM).<br />
Thecommissioningofaseconddredgein2007 waspartofagrowthstrategyintendedtodoubleitsru9leproduc‐<br />
9onandincreasetheCompany’smarketshare. However,in2008disasterstruckwhenthenewdredgecapsized.<br />
ThiswasasignificantsetbackfortheCompanyandtradinginitssharesonAIMwassuspended.<br />
Workingforabe-er<strong>Sierra</strong>Leone<br />
Duringthisdifficultperiod, the CompanyappointedJohnBonohSisayasChiefExecu9veOfficer,the first<strong>Sierra</strong><br />
Leoneanna9onaltoholdthisposi9on.JohnSisaybroughtmorethan20yearsofexperiencetothejob,gainedin<br />
over10Africancountries.<br />
Workingforabe-er<strong>Sierra</strong>Leone
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