Corporate and Community Affairs
John Sisay, Director of Corporate Affairs
1

Agenda
● Political situation in Sierra Leone
● Community relations
● Environment
● Health
2

Sustainability overview
● Clear business benefits from good standards of
health, safety, environmental management
● Competitive advantage and TRG is a beacon in
Sierra Leone in terms of sustaining communities,
transparent engagement and confirming license to
operate
● An area where progress has been made since IPO
but further development required beyond TRG’s
current performance
● Part of TRG’s strategy to attract and retain people,
secure new deposits, secure funding and manage
risks
3

Politics in Sierra Leone
4

The Government of Sierra Leone
● Presidential system
● Hybrid of US and UK systems
● Role of chieftains and local system of government
● External, expert advisers present in civil service
5

External relations
● Neighbouring states
● Key donor states
● US
● UK
● EU
● Global institutions
● UN
● World Bank
● IMF
● China
6

Key personalities
● The President: Ernest Bai Koroma
● The Finance Minister: David Carew
● Minister of Mines: Alhaji Abubakarr Jalloh
7

Government relations
● History
● The Sierra Rutile Act
● Tax agreements
● GOSL shareholding in SRL
8

Opportunities and challenges
● Government approach to mining licences in Sierra Leone
● Size and scale of TRG relative to the economy of Sierra Leone
9

Community relations
10

Background
● Catchment area of 8 Chiefdoms
● Local population
● 140,000 people
● Ethnicity
● Religion
● Employment
● Education
● Strategy
11

Ongoing initiatives
● The Sierra Rutile Foundation
● Board
● Terms of reference
● Budget
● Ongoing initiatives
● Job creation: Banana Project
● Power
● Water
● Aquaculture
● Agricultural Development Fund
● The Educational Resource Center and SRL Technical/Vocational
Institute
● Healthcare
● Infrastructure (roads)
12

Opportunities and challenges
● Ensuring continued licence to operate
● Sustainable partnership with local communities
● Educating future workers
● Resettlement
● Underline positive impact of operations for Sierra
Leone as a country
13

Environment
14

Background
● Key impacts of mining at SRL
● Large ponds
● Tailings
● Inert by-products
● Dust
● No chemical processing
15

Environmental initiatives
● Darwin Project
● Establish 2 hectares experimental plots using mixture of slimes
and sand as substrate
● Aquaculture in old mine ponds
● Establish experimental plots using leguminous plants as
undergrowth
● Regular EU audit of environmental performance
● Implementation of tailings management plan
16

2008 targets
● Establish 8 hectares of experimental plots on sand tailings
● Establish 6 pilot fish ponds
● No environmental spillage
● Complete Mine Rehabilitation Plan by July, 2008
17

Opportunities and challenges
● Legacy of 40 years of operations
● Finding best use for mined out ponds
● Rehabilitation of mined areas
● Underline positive impact of operations for Sierra Leone as a
country
18

Health
19

Background
● Main community health issues
● Malaria
● Hygiene
● Health statistics part of monthly management reporting
● TRG supporting construction of new hospital near operations
● EU funding refurbishment of nearby Serabo general hospital
20

TRG healthcare programmes
● SRL Hospital and health clinics
● 2,000 people a month treated
● Budget
● Staff
● Ambulance
● Community health programmes
● HIV / AIDS
● Malaria
● Hygiene
● Weekly community clinics
21

Opportunities and challenges
● Growth in size of community around mine
22