Sierra Leone

Geography

Officially called the Republic of Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone is a situated in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea on the north and east, and Liberia on the south, with the Atlantic Ocean on the west.

History

Sierra Leone gained independence from the UK in 1961. In 2002 a civil war ended after 11 years of fighting.

Legislation

Sierra Leone provides the basic rights to mine and export minerals, hold foreign exchange in foreign bank accounts without restriction, and allow duty free importation of mining equipment. It offers a fiscal package of royalties, corporation taxes, and deductible expenditure in line with attractive emerging markets' mining investment codes.

Economy

Mineral exports remain Sierra Leone's principal foreign exchange earner. Sierra Leone is a major producer of gem-quality diamonds. Though rich in this resource, the country has historically struggled to manage its exploitation and export. Annual production estimates range between $250-300 million. However, not all of that passes through formal export channels, although formal exports have dramatically improved since the days of civil war. The balance is smuggled, where it is possibly used for money laundering or financing illicit activities. Efforts to improve the management of the export trade have met with some success. In October 2000, a UN-approved export certification system for exporting diamonds from Sierra Leone was put into place that led to a dramatic increase in legal exports. In 2001, the Government of Sierra Leone created a mining community development fund, which returns a portion of diamond export taxes to diamond mining communities. The fund was created to raise local communities' stake in the legal diamond trade.

Sierra Leone has one of the world's largest deposits of rutile, a titanium ore used as paint pigment and welding rod coatings. Sierra Rutile Limited began commercial mining operations near the city of Bonthe, in the Southern Province, in early 1979. Rutile mining operations were suspended when rebels invaded the mining sites in 1995, but exports resumed in 2005.