LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH IN SIERRA LEONEAMR GOLD AT A GLANCE

By Elkass Sannoh

AMR Gold Director-Gary Vallerius with over 25 years experience in mining and exploration industry

Sierra Leone has moved from a decade civil war through peace and laying the foundation for
democratic good governance and economic growth for sustainable development. To many, Sierra
Leone is a virgin land rich in mineral resources such as-Diamond, Gold, Bauxite, Rutile,
Copper, Iron Ore and
now Coltan.
Before the war, the most prominent mineral was Diamond-discovered in 1930 in Kono DistrictEastern Sierra Leone. It is argued that well-organized but unregulated mining started with
Bauxite in the 1920s. By the mid-1920s, the Sierra Leone Selection Trust (SLST) held a
monopoly for mining, prospecting and marketing Diamond in the country. The commercial
mining sector was and is still believed to be one of the highest employers in the country.
With the emergence of democratic good governance-in 1996 following the first post war
democratic elections, the government has provided a competitive but a friendly environment for
genuine investors to come and invest. This enabling business environment has attracted many
companies. Among these companies-bettering the lives of Sierra Leoneans by way of providing
job opportunities and expanding its corporate social responsibility within and outside its
operational areas is AMR Gold.
AMR GOLD AS AN EXPLORATION COMPANY

AMR Gold is an exploration, evaluation and mine development company with three (3)
Exploration Licenses. The company was incorporated in Sierra Leone in 2011. Since its
inception, the company has undertaken extensive exploration work primarily focusing on
bedrock gold targets. It later diversified its search for other commodities such as
columbite/tantalum, tin, diamond and rare earths.
To ensure the company continues to succeed, the Board focused on installing a strong and result
oriented Management team of Sierra Leonean geologists and administrators. This energetic and
resourceful team has now defined a pipeline of very attractive multi-commodity targets within
the companys Exploration Licenses. Today, the company is on track to start its first
alluvial/eluvial Small Scale Mining operation for Coltan, Gold and Tin in the Loko Hills area.
Despite the challenges faced by the industry, Sierra Leone is largely enjoying political stability
and providing an investor friendly environment.
In laying a positive foundation for economic growth-President Ernest Bai Koroma in 2011,
during the launch of the Sierra Leone Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (SLEITI) said,
My government is committed to avoiding the negative consequences by ensuring that the
natural resource wealth of this country is harnessed and for the benefit of all Sierra Leoneans.
The Presidents strong worded statement was not only to admit the fact that the mining industry
was not well regulated/supervised, but to send a far reaching message that the mining sector is
expanding and contributing immensely to the countrys economy.
It is important to note that unlocking the potential of mining in African countries means investing
in local capacity so that a flourishing mining industry is being led by local professionals.
Unfortunately, this is a challenge in Sierra Leone despite the introduction of Local Content
Policy.
According to the President of the Sierra Leone Chamber of Mines-John Bono Sisay, there is an
undersupply of the skilled employees needed by the mining industry. Again we need to critically
look at the skills available.
As one of the compliant companies in Sierra Leone, this has not adversely affected the work of
AMR Gold. In fact the companys Director-Gary Vallerius is convinced that the company is on
record to be the first to employ 99.9% Sierra Leoneans from Senior Management to unskilled
staff.
Gary explained that the company will seek to maintain this high percentage to demonstrate strict
adherence to the countrys Local Content Policy. He is certain that when recruitment starts for
full scale commercial mining, the first point of contact will be Sierra Leone before trying
elsewhere for Mining Engineers and other technical expatriates.

Prominent among the Sierra Leonean staff are Salim Sillah-Chief Geologist who graduated with
MSc from the Camborne School of Mines and Mohamed Sultan Daffae who is an expert in
Accounting, Finance and Administration with an MBA from the University of Cumbria.
AMR Gold has also hired the services of consultants to assist with implementation of their
exploration, evaluation and mining development programmes and with the discovery of
economic deposits of coltan-Dr. Jan P.J. Ketelaar, a Mining Engineer with a lot of experience in
Sierra Leone, has been retained by the company to initiate the development of commercial
mining operations later this year. Dr. Ketelaar is also the Country Manager.
JOB AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Today, AMR Gold has not only provided Sierra Leoneans with sustainable employment; they
have also made inroads in the development of the mining industry making the company a strong
contributor to the countrys economy.
To many people, Coltan is a strange terminology. Columbite-tantalite is the other name for
Coltan-a mineral that is prominent in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Eastern areas of Democratic
Republic of Congo. When refined, Coltan becomes a heat resistant metal tantalum, or a salt
tantalum pentoxide that can hold high electrical charge. Tantalum capacitors are used in almost
all cell phones, laptops and many other electronics.
Knowing that unemployment is posing a huge socio-economic challenge to Government, AMR
Golds subsidiary company-Wilkinson Hill Company has supervised and funded the
establishment of Artisanal Mining Cooperatives in the Chiefdoms of Sella Limba and Sanda
Loko, Bombali District. The cooperative mining is within AMR Golds licenses area. The
essence of initiating these cooperatives is not only to legalise and properly regulate illicit mining
activities, but to help provide sustainable employment that will benefit community stakeholders,
landowners and the country.
The Wilkinson Hill Mining Company which was recently granted a Small Scale Mining License
by the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources is currently working with the Environmental
Protection Agency, NMA and local authorities to make sure that the artisanal mining cooperative
ventures are viable with regards to rehabilitation of mined areas to provide agricultural farm,
fishing ponds and improve water quality to support food security.
In joining the Government to lay the foundations of economic growth, AMR Gold has provided
scholarships to primary, secondary and tertiary students in order to help achieve goal 3 of the
MDGs (Education). Added to it is the provision of over three hundred jobs to Sierra Leoneans;
AMR Gold has built concrete schools in remote villages; constructed roads linking villages in

Bombali District; rehabilitated the Kamakwie Court Barry and Police station and supported the
fight to end the Ebola Virus Disease which claimed the lives of many Sierra Leoneans.
Among the companys numerous interventions, this is AMR Gold in helping to revive the Sierra
Leonean mining sector that was decimated by a combination of the EVD and the demise of
global commodity prices, especially iron ore. To know more, visit AMR Golds on:
http://www.amrgold.net