Freetown — African Minerals SL Ltd. (AML) Freetown, 23 August, 2010. Our attention has been drawn to a seemingly self-seeking report by the Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD) titled "Dancing with the Chameleon - Mining Communities in Sierra Leone and the many faces of Frank Timis" - June 2010.

Our initial reaction was to dismiss the report as an anaemic example of the continuing campaign of vilification. The report is inimical of Government's continued effort to attract foreign investors to Sierra Leone.

We take the greatest exception to the baseless contrast in paragraph 2, page 6 of the NMJD report: "Timis' publicity around the discovery is the biggest iron ore find in 20 years, and the largest deposit in Africa, surpassing those in Liberia (where the far bigger and better-financed Acelor Mittal Steel is active) and Guinea (exploited by Australian giant Rio Tinto)."

The facts are there that Tonkolili is the largest ore deposit in Africa that is Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) compliance. Liberia Mittal Ore deposit was a proven mine and was closed because of the war, so exploration was done years ago; Guinea's Rio Tinto ore project stands at 2 billion tones and was proven close to 20 years ago and no work has been done until now.

The most unfortunate, baseless and malicious claim by NMJD is that: "Timis took the Minister of Mineral Resources, Alpha Kanu, on a trip to Romania, and quickly the Sierra Leone government back Timis".

This statement is libelous, enviously frivolous, vexatious, malicious and a gross manifestation of factual absurdity. With letters dated 4th, 25th and 26th June and 5th September 2008, the GoSL gave the correct picture of the situation before and after the issue was resolved. It is a pity that the report is enviously subjective and shows a lack of understanding of the prospecting and exploration concepts in the case of geophysical air magnetic survey.

Meanwhile, it is even refreshing to learn that in a 2005-Diamond Industry Annual Review published by the very Network Movement for Justice and Development with help from Partnership Africa Canada lauded our effort.

The 2005 NMJD report is a testament that: "During 2004, SLDC completed a series of financings."

"It is understood that the company is assisting the government to develop a modern geographic information system (GIS) in order to properly record historic and future geological data, for wider use in attracting additional foreign investment to the country. SLDC [now African Minerals] has also developed a philosophy of corporate social responsibility that is said to include various international, country and community development initiatives."