Blessed with enviable deposits of a plethora of mineral resources such as diamond, rutile, ilmenite, bauxite, gold, iron ore, limonite, platinum, chromite (columbite-tantalite) i.e. coltan, tantalite, columbite and zircon; and as if that was not enough the discovery of very promising oil and gas reserves offshore, Sierra Leone has rather shot to fame for a conflict in the 1990s that was known for its peculiar form of brutality and source ironically termed “blood diamonds”. Thankfully the conflict of the 1990s has long been over and despite the double whammy of Ebola and now COVID-19, some analysts and optimists predict a sooner return to some form of economic growth. This viewpoint has been further shored up by the steady appreciation in the price of commodities and the relatively low negative
