science

Sierra Rutile Limited

Sierra Rutile Limited is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sierra Rutile Limited rather than just read about it. In short: Sierra Rutile Limited (Titanium Resources Group Ltd. until 2011) is a mining company with headquarters based in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The company currently has operating mines for Rutile, ilmenite, zircon, and titanium dioxide minerals in South and Northwest Sierra Leone, specifically in the Moyamba and Bonthe Districts.

Key takeaways

Sierra Rutile Limited belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sierra Rutile Limited to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sierra Rutile Limited from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sierra Rutile Limited (Titanium Resources Group Ltd. until 2011) is a mining company with headquarters based in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The company currently has operating mines for Rutile, ilmenite, zircon, and titanium dioxide minerals in South and Northwest Sierra Leone, specifically in the Moyamba and Bonthe Districts. Australian-based Iluka Resources Limited acquired the company in December 2016 and subsequently installed new and currently acting CEO Rob Hattingh.

History

Sierra Rutile Limited was officially founded in December 1971 by Nord Resources and Armco Steel. However, mining operations began in the area in 1967, which is recognized by some as the inception of the firm. In 1993, the company had the highest rutile (a titanium mineral) production in the world; however, this milestone was short-lived as the Sierra Leonean Civil War disrupted mining progress.

In 1995 the company abandoned their operation because of the Sierra Leone Civil War. In January 2005, the company agreed a mining lease covering 580 km² of South West Sierra Leone, about 150 km South East of the capital. On 28 February 2005, the company announced that they were beginning refurbishment of the Sierra Rutile Mine, to be completed in early 2006. Later in the year, they announced that they were to restart their SML Bauxite mine also. In December 2005 they acquired the Rotifunk mineral sands prospect, also in Sierra Leone, from Gondwana Investments S.A. for US$120000. In January 2006, they completed refurbishment and commissioned their primary bucket line dredge (Dredge D1), and so restarted the SML Bauxite Project. On 25 August 2005, they listed shares on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol: AIM: TXR.L. In December 2007 a second Dredge D2 commenced production at the company's Sierra Rutile Mine, increasing capacity to 200,000 tonnes per year. Dredge D2 was a complete unit comprising a bucket ladder dredge and heavy mineral separation plant mounted on a single pontoon. During July 2008 the company announced the disposal of Global Aluminium Limited to Vimetco N.V., a group owned by Vitaliy L. Machitski, for a total cash consideration of US$40 million. Global Aluminium Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, owns 100% of Sierra Mineral Holdings 1, Ltd, the operating company for the company's SML bauxite mine in Sierra Leone. On 25 July 2008 trading in the company's shares was suspended on AIM market of the London Stock Exchange after it was announced Dredge D2 had capsized resulting in the loss of two lives. The company had insurance, but it took until 2010 for a resolution with the company's insurers to be agreed when a total of $11m was recovered. Initial estimates believed Dredge D2 could be operational by December 2009 some 14 months of the accident, this was later increased to $35m and 2 years. In January 2009 trading in the companies shares recommenced on AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

Placing 16 November 2009 the company raised $25m via a placing of 151,200,000 new shares at 10 pence. The proceeds of which will fund the three projects Dredge D3, upgrade D1 wet processing plant and upgrading the company's land plant. The upgrade to D1 would cost $2 million and increase rutile recovery by 5,000 tonnes and Ilmenite recovery by 1,000 tonnes per annum.

Dredge D3 The third dredge would cost $20m adding 30,000 tonnes to annual capacity. Production was due to start in Q1 2010 and take 12 months to complete, the company later took some time to review this ambitious production schedule to redesign the dredge in order to reduce the build cost and increase its operating efficiencies.

Pala Investment Holding Limited In September 2010 it was announced that Pala took a 29.8% holding in TXR after acquiring the majority of the Ordinary Shares held by Mr Jean-Raymond Boulle - the previous majority share holder. Pala is a US$1 billion multi-strategy investment company with a particular focus on mining and natural resource companies in both developed and emerging markets. Pala's exclusive investment advisor, Pala Investments AG, is a Swiss-based team with extensive experience within the mining and natural resource sectors. Pala seeks to assist companies in which it has long-term shareholdings by providing strategic advice and innovative financing solutions.

Government of Sierra Leone During the second half of 2010 a dispute arose between the Government of Sierra Leone and Sierra Rutile Limited over the non payment of certain interest payments regarding a loan from the government. A resolution to the dispute was agreed in December 2010 when the government withdrew its request for the payment by Sierra Rutile Limited of all accrued interest plus the accrued balance and capital interest owing. Further, the government acknowledged that no event of default or potential event of default is outstanding, and that it has no claims regarding any prior events of default which may have occurred.

After the name change The company was previously known as Titanium Resources Group Ltd until name, web address and trading symbol changes in February 2011. On December 7, 2016, the company was acquired by Iluka Resources Limited for A$375 million. Iluka incurred the company's outstanding net debt of A$80million. Iluka has headquarters in Australia, but also operates in Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka.

Operations

Overall Process The relevant materials minerals are mined, albeit in different ways. After the company extracts them, they are processed in a mineral separation plant. Once separated, a truck takes the minerals to the Nitti port to be shipped.

Gangama Dry Mine Starting in April 2015, the Gangama dry mine was built by the Sierra Rutile company and DRA Projects. On June 2, 2016, the Gangama Dry Mine was declared ready for action. It was predicted to mine up to 500 tonnes of ore per hour; Iluka is considering expanding the mine capacity by an extra 500 tonnes of ore per hour.

Lanti Dry Mine Completed in 2013, the Lanti Dry Mine collected up to 500 tonnes of ore per hour in 2016, with Iluka considering expanding the mine capacity by an extra 500 tonnes of ore per hour.

Lanti Dredge Mine In 2016, the Lanti Dredge Mine could collect up to 750 tonnes of ore per hour, and later 1,000 tonnes of ore each hour.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sierra Rutile Limited

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sierra Rutile Limited claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sierra Rutile Limited before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sierra Rutile Limited ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sierra Rutile Limited

In research: Sierra Rutile Limited appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sierra Rutile Limited in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sierra Rutile Limited is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1971 establishments in Sierra Leone, Companies based in Freetown, Ilmenite group, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sierra Rutile Limited outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sierra Rutile Limited in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sierra Rutile Limited means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sierra Rutile Limited out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sierra Rutile Limited in simple terms?

Why does Sierra Rutile Limited matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sierra Rutile Limited?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sierra Rutile Limited.