DUBIOUS MINING DEALS
…Like Frank Timis, Like Craig Dean
Craig Dean- Marampa Mines CEO
Frank Timis- Global Mining Mafia
On the 11th of March Sierra Rutile Limited, a company registered in the Australian Stock market announced its new shareholders. According to a release from the company, the two new shareholders are PRM Services PLC and Mano Mining.
“The first group PRM service LLC which has acquired 8.19 shareholding in the company as reflected in their substantial shareholding of 29 February 2024. Sierra Rutile now understands that this shareholding is held by a company associated with Gerald Group,” the notice in the Australian Stock Market Revealed.
Gerald Group is company operating in Sierra Leone Iron Ore Industry of which Craig Dean holds about 75% of its shares and it is operating in the Northern Part of Sierra Leone.
From investigation, it is believed that PRM Service is owned by Craig Dean who also owned about 75% stake in the Gerald Group, a company that owns Marampa Mines and at the same time a signature for which a team of investigative journalists sent a text message to Craig Dean to clarify why he shouldn’t be called a Mining Mafia over it operations in Sierra Leone Mines.
This investigation revealed the said company that bought shares at Sierra Rutile is registered in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and that the owner of Gerald Group is not just associated with PRM services but he ( Craig Dean) is the authorized persons for the company.
Surprisingly, it was after the text message to Craig Dean about his secret affairs with PRM Service last Tuesday that Sierra Rutile updated its announcement last Thursday 14 March about PRM Service and its relationship to Craig Dean and Gerald Group
As a result of that, Sierra Rutile received a clarification that none of Gerald Group nor any of its subsidiaries have a relevant interest in the voting shares of the company and have no involvement in relations to PRM’s securities in the company but the big question they failed to answer is how comes Craig Dean is the authorizing person of PRM service.
The story of Craig Dean in the Mines of Sierra Leone is one that is full of gangsterism. Craig Dean as CEO of Gerald Group owned about 75% shares in Timis Corporation for which the Mining Mafia and Partner of Craig, Frank Timis owned about 25% shares.
It could be recalled that in 2017 Cape Lambert Resources Ltd. launched legal action in the High Court of Sierra Leone against Craig Dean, Gerald Metals Ltd., Frank Timis and Timis Mining Corp. (SL) Ltd. regarding overdue royalty payments.
According to Cape Lambert, the transfer of ownership from the Timis Trust to the Gerald Group was in breach of terms agreed between Cape Lambert and Timis Mining Corp.
Reports revealed that Cape Lambert agreed in October 2014 to provide Timis Mining Corp. (SL) Ltd. and Timis Mining Corp. Ltd. with US$20 million in financing to assist with the acquisition of the Marampa property from the administrators of London Mining Plc. The financing agreement comprised an US$8 million bridge loan and a US$12 million royalty purchase.
That Under the royalty agreement, Cape Lambert was entitled to receive US$2 per tonne of iron concentrate exported from the mine, payable on a quarterly basis on the production of 24 million tonnes from the mine from the date of the first shipment.
Gerald Group the owner of SL Mining was only able to solve its problems with the government of Sierra Leone in 2021 because the SL Mining Agreement was one of the agreements that was rushed through Parliament of Sierra Leone in the eve of the 2018 elections and it is believed that it was rush through Parliament to avoid proper scrutiny.
For this reason, the Sierra Leone People and Government should be weary of Craig Dean particularly in the Mining Industry of the country. Effort to get Craig to comment on his activities with Sierra Rutile and the Mining Industry of Sierra Leone proved futile. More details of Craig Dean and his activities in the mining of Sierra Leone in subsequent editions.