VZCZCXRO8172
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHFN #0400/01 1371532
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 171532Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY FREETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9802
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 FREETOWN 000400 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W AND AF/EPS 
DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR EB 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/16/2011 
TAGS: ECON EMIN ETRD EFIN PREL BEXP SL
SUBJECT: LARGELY U.S.-OWNED SIERRA RUTILE OFF TO GOOD 
START: TOP POLITICAL LEADERSHIP FAVORABLE 
 
Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES JAMES A. STEWART FOR REASONS 1.4 B/D. 
 
Summary 
------- 
¶1. (C) Sierra Rutile (SR) just exported the first shipment of 
mined product since 1995.  Board members, including Chairman 
Walter Kansteiner, witnessed the re-entry of the US.-owned 
company into world markets.  Up until the mid-1990s when the 
mining equipment was destroyed by rebels, SR was the world's 
largest rutile operation.  SR will export 10,000 tons per 
month worth $4.5 million and for three months has been 
exporting bauxite mined nearby worth $2.5-3.0 million per 
month.  High oil prices are hurting the bottom line as the 
mines depend on thermally generated electricity.  SR is 
looking at alternative fuels, including from algae grown in 
ponds left by mining operations.  SR offered its stock on the 
London exchange in 2005 and shows a market value of $325 
million.  Board members explained that they are seeking $70 
million in financing for capital equipment, including 
dredges, generators, barges, and port equipment.  To that end 
they are talking to OPIC and the EX/IM Bank as well as 
contemplating a further stock offer.  Executives report that 
relations with local government and labor are good.  They 
have 18 months to implement their obligatory land recovery 
plan.  In a May 8 meeting, President Kabbah vowed to keep the 
MOU and its tax concession intact and VP Berewa followed suit 
separately.  Under the MOU, SR will transfer 30 percent of 
its stock to the Government over a 10-year period.  A 
National Revenue Authority (NRA) official told post that 
there is no intention to alter the MOU or tax concessions, 
but wants SR to pay up on the 1 percent tax levied in 
exchange for all other taxes being waved.  Top official 
understand, even if mid-level tax and other functionaries do 
not always, how SR's success benefits the economy and Sierra 
Leone's reputation as a place to do business.  End Summary. 
 
Kansteiner and Board Members Witness First Export Shipment 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
¶2. (U) On May 8, Sierra Rutile (SR) shipped its first load of 
rutile out of Sierra Leone since 1995.  The shipment, bound 
for the Netherlands, coincided with a visit to Sierra Leone 
of some members of the U.S.-owned company's Board of 
Directors, including Chairman (and ex-A/S for African 
Affairs) Walter Kansteiner.  Local company executives showed 
the visitors current operations and recent progress on the 
ground at the rutile mine and the nearby allied bauxite 
operation.  A decade ago, SR was the largest rutile producer 
in the world until the mining equipment and plant were 
destroyed in the rebel war. 
 
$7 Million in Monthly Exports Large for Sierra Leone 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
¶3. (U) The company is on track to export 10,000 tons of 
rutile per month at $450/T for monthly revenues of $4.5 
million and is ready in the next year or two to double 
output.  Company executives said that the market will bear 
such an increase as Sierra Leonean rutile is known for its 
purity and high quality.   The company has been exporting 
bauxite for the past three months at the rate of 100,000 tons 
per month.  Those exports fetch $25-30 per ton, depending on 
the customer, implying a monthly gross income stream of 
$2.5)3.0 million.  Company managers related that current 
bauxite exports are going to Alcoa in Texas. 
 
¶4. (U) Rutile is titanium oxide which is an important 
ingredient in paints and welding rods.  Rutile sands are 
found in deposits along old river beds where they have 
collected in geological time.  They are dredged up then go 
through preliminary centrifuge processing to separate out 
rocks and clay and leave heavy dark-colored rutile sands. 
The high-concentrate rutile ore, which constitutes the 
majority of the sands, is then separated via an electrostatic 
process.  The lower quality sands also find an export market. 
 Zirconium is present in limited quantities and there is a 
ready world market for that high value metal as well as for 
other minerals in low concentrations.  Bauxite mining and 
processing is less complex.  Both products are shipped by 
rail to the shallow port of Nitti in southwestern Sierra 
Leone where they are barged to a ship waiting in deeper water 
offshore. 
 
High Fuel Costs Hurting Balance Sheet 
------------------------------------- 
¶5. (SBU) The run-up in world oil prices is hurting SR's 
bottom line.  The mines operate entirely on electricity 
generated by an on-site thermal plant.  With diesel fuel 
prices up 208% in the past year, fuel costs are making the 
company run deeper in the red than financial projections 
 
FREETOWN 00000400  002 OF 003 
 
 
predicted, according to Sierra Rutile management. 
 
¶6. (U)  In order to cope with the problem, SR executives are 
considering a number of alternative energy sources.  In the 
near term, they plan to switch from diesel to less expensive, 
but dirtier, liquid heavy fuel, which will require the 
purchase of new generators.  Over the longer run, they are 
considering more innovative solutions, including generating 
bio-diesel and cellulosic ethanol from local oil palm 
plantations as well as bio-fuel created from algae grown in 
pools left by the mining operations. 
 
¶7. (U) Biological scientists have explained to post that 
algae is more proficient energy producer per unit volume than 
other bio-fuels.  An added advantage is that algae fuel can 
be used with straight forward add-ons to existing plant and 
does not require radical retro-fitting.  Even if algae 
development were to take several years, with a predicted mine 
life span of 30 years, company managers recognize that such 
an alternate energy input to the mines and associated plants 
could reduce significantly their energy bill.  Non-executive 
SR board member Rod Baker told PolOff that in late May he 
will bring a University of Arizona scientist to evaluate the 
potential for algae-based bio-fuel production. 
 
Seeking Expansion Capital 
------------------------- 
¶8. (SBU) Sierra Rutile offered its stock in an Initial Public 
Offering (IPO) on the London exchange in 2005.  The stock has 
enjoyed solid growth since and shows a company market 
capitalization of $325 million.  The board of directors and 
management are considering returning to the London exchange 
for additional capital but they are also talking to OPIC and 
the EX/IM Bank about financing capital equipment.  They say 
they need $70 million for added dredges, new generators, new 
barges, and a revamped port facility at Nitti.  Kansteiner 
and the board are optimistic that EX/IM Bank will look 
favorably on new dredges and large generators if they are of 
US manufacture. 
 
Good Relations with Local Government and Labor 
--------------------------------------------- - 
¶9. (SBU) The company makes regular payments to local chiefs 
and local councils, amounting to $400,000 per annum for the 
rutile lands and $100,000 from the bauxite lands.  As 
management explained, it is the political process that 
determines who receives the rents: the company simply writes 
the check to whom the Government designates. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Sierra Rutile recently signed a labor contract with 
the mine workers union.  Company executives reported good 
labor relations and also that they are happy with bargain 
they struck with the 2,000 workers in the rutile and bauxite 
mines operations, processing plants, and in shipping. 
 
¶11. (C) Company officials noted that local politics and 
chieftancy loyalties are colored by the divide between, on 
the one hand, VP Berewa and the ruling SLPP to which he 
belongs, and, on the other hand, Charles Margai and his 
breakaway PMDC party.  They added that they have to be 
careful not to be drawn into such political squabbles. 
 
Land Recovery Plan in Place 
--------------------------- 
¶12. (U) Company executives said that recovering mined land is 
important.  At present, some of the ponds created by rutile 
mining are being used to grow tilapia fish for local 
consumption.  The pond water has been tested and reportedly 
is clean and potable.  Kansteiner told PolOff that local 
communities now rely on the fish for protein, and Bird Life 
International has indicated interest in researching some of 
the exotic bird species attracted to the pools.  SR has 18 
months to implement their obligation to rehabilitate 
mined-out lands.  Before doing so, SR plans to work through 
the mine tailings left by earlier operations under Bethlehem 
Steel.  Company managers explained that the land rehab plan 
consists of creating more tilapia ponds or returning the land 
to agricultural use. 
 
Paying Fees, Getting Some Tax Breaks, Leave MOU As Is 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
¶13. (SBU) The MOU between SR and the Government specifies 
certain tax concessions.  Nevertheless, Sierra Rutile pays 
fees to the national port authority even though it built and 
owns the port of Nitti where it ships rutile and bauxite and 
receives necessary equipment and supplies. 
 
¶14. (U) The MOU also specifies that the company will transfer 
 
FREETOWN 00000400  003 OF 003 
 
 
to Government ownership one-third of its stock in the first 
10 years of operation and company leadership said they are 
committed to doing so. 
 
¶15. (C) Earlier on May 8, President Kabbah expressed pleasure 
with the foreign investment in Sierra Leone and applauded the 
success of the company to Kansteiner and board members and 
company managers.  Underscoring that SR is operating in the 
red and will continue to show losses for a few years until 
production is ramped up and costs are driven down, company 
representatives reported making a strong case to Kabbah for 
the Government to leave the MOU as is and to continue the 
existing tax concessions.  Kabbah, they said, accepted that 
the MOU should not be changed.  Later the same day, Vice 
President Berewa gave similar strong support for SR and the 
existing MOU. 
 
¶16. (SBU) Sierra Rutile officials report that some in the 
Government and bureaucracy want to change concessionary 
elements of the MOU and tax the company much more heavily. 
In the local context, some authorities see SR as a large and 
rich company and, on that basis alone, should be taxed.  A 
National Revenue Authority (NRA) official told us, however, 
that there was no desire on the Government's part to modify 
SR's existing tax concessions, rather the NRA wants SR to pay 
up under that agreement.  He explained that per Sierra 
Leonean regulations, SR owes a 1 percent concessionary tax, 
in lieu of other taxes that SR is not required to pay.  He 
noted, that that rate is below even the normal rate for tax 
exempt entities which usually must pay a 1.5 percent service 
charge. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶17. (C) The Government is under pressure from the IMF and 
World Bank to increase its own revenue base via taxes and 
fees.  Under (relatively) new Finance Minister John Benjamin 
the National Revenue Authority (NRA) has become much more 
aggressive in recent months.  At a reception for Sierra 
Rutile, Benjamin called on the NRA to get after Sierra Rutile 
) he was only half joking.  The FinMin has upped an array of 
taxes, including fuel taxes and a &service charge8 applied 
also to diplomatic missions for port clearance that violates 
international conventions.   After their conversations with 
President Kabbah and VP Berewa who evinced understanding of 
the environment international investors need in order to 
succeed, Sierra Rutile's leadership is confident that the 
concessions articulated in the MOU are safe while the company 
amortizes large machinery expenditures and other front-loaded 
expenditures typical of such a capital intensive undertaking. 
 By and large, Sierra Leone's political leadership recognizes 
the positive contribution in job creation and multiplier 
effects in the economy that Sierra Rutile brings.  The top 
people also recognize, if the mid-level functionaries do not 
always, that a successful Sierra Rutile makes a substantial 
contribution to the country's business reputation and by its 
example helps to attract further investors.  End Comment. 
STEWART