In late June, the Conference on Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration and Stability in Africa was held in Freetown and, by January 2006, UN troops are set to leave the country. These are clear indications of the international community's confidence in Sierra Leone's return to peace and stability. TRG has invested heavily in this country. Mr. Boulle, please share with the readers of The New York Times what it was that gave you the confidence to invest here in Sierra Leone.

I first invested in Sierra Leone in 1999 and have remained confident that the people of Sierra Leone would create a peaceful and stable country once their internal problems had been resolved. There is a compelling commercial attraction to the high quality mineral resources within the country, which reaches beyond the timeframes of civil unrest.

Many investors were put off by what they saw as the relatively high risk nature of Sierra Leone, however, with a good understanding of the country my view was that investing in Sierra Leone created an opportunity to create significant value - both to me as an investor and to Sierra Leone in general.

The investor support for the TRG IPO this summer indicates the extent to which investing institutions recognize that the country's risk profile is now significantly improved. Investors' continued support reflects the attraction of the company's underlying assets and confidence in the ability of the management team to unlock this value.

Mr. Boulle, you have a wealth of experience in the mining industry throughout Africa. What was it about this particular project that inspired you?

Sierra Rutile is one of the world's largest natural rutile deposits and before it closed it produced around 30% of the world's rutile - a high titanium-bearing feedstock used to manufacture titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigments that are a critical ingredient in paint, plastics and paper. Titanium dioxide is also used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and the production of titanium metal.

TRG will be one of the lowest cash cost producers of rutile in the world and with huge reserves for the future already defined; I believe it represents a relatively low risk, cash generative opportunity.

A further key factor was the strong and experienced management team that was already in place and enabled us to advance the redevelopment of the mine significantly quicker than otherwise would have been the case.

It is a testament to Sierra Leone's renewal that foreign investors are seriously committing to new projects. Representatives of your company have praised the business-friendly attitude of the government of Sierra Leone. We are keen to understand your views on the business environment here.

The Government recently won recognition for their endeavors from the mining industry by being given the award for the country that has shown the most improvement in terms of mineral investment (Mining Journal Awards 2004). In straightforward terms, the Government realizes that the best way to promote development is through commercial partnerships which generate further investment.

Before its destruction in a rebel attacks in January 1995, Sierra Rutile Limited was the major source of Government revenue, providing about 50 per cent of foreign exchange earnings. It truly was one of the country's flagship companies and there was great happiness when you came to invest here and set it working once again. Please explain to the readers of The New York Times the symbolic nature of this particular company for Sierra Leone.

Whilst there was significant damage to Sierra Rutile it was not completely destroyed and considerable sums were invested between its closure in 1995 and the start up of full scale refurbishment activities earlier this year.

As the largest employer, the largest taxpayer and the largest exporter, Sierra Rutile is obviously of great importance to Sierra Leoneans both symbolically and economically. As the first major investor in the country for a number of years this symbolism also has an important part to play beyond the borders of Sierra Leone. The visibility of this investment in other parts of the world will help to promote Sierra Leone as an attractive place to operate and invest.

This prominent role confers on TRG significant responsibilities and as a long term investor in both TRG and Sierra Leone I believe that I and the people of Sierra Leone stand to gain the most from a relationship based upon trust and the honoring of joint responsibilities.