Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013 Homecoming - Week 2 (Part III)

Hello world!!!

Hope you and yours are doing well. I'm doing great, thanks to the Almighty. As promised, I've been writing detailed blogs about my adventures during my recent Homecoming Trip to Salone as Miss Sierra Leone USA; read my preview blog post. On Friday (May 10th), I traveled to Kono by road and was scheduled for a tour of the Kimberlite mine in Koidu the next day. The ride to Kono from Freetown (Western Area) was long and sometimes bumpy, but I enjoyed crossing many districts, seeing the street vendors, and buying food and poyo (palm wine); this was my first trip to upline (the provinces). Kono is a diamond-rich district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone; its capital and largest city is Koidu Town. On Saturday (May 11th) morning, I visited Octea Mining's Koidu Limited (formerly Koidu Holdings) site and saw their Kimberlite Diamond Project. The site is located in the Tankoro Chiefdom, has 2 kimberlite pipes (K1 and K2), and 4 kimberlite dyke zones.

Mr. Christo Swanepoel (General Manager) shows the mine plan of the two kimberlite
pipes to Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

After checking in with security, getting my visitor badge and PPE (vest and hard hat) items, and being driven to the office area by Mr. Julius Aruna (Human Resources & Administrative Manager), I had a meeting with Mr. Christo Swanepoel (General Manager & Mining Engineer), which included a safety orientation by the Safety Manager. Mr. Christo Swanepoel explained the history and showed the map of the mine, what Octea Mining does, how the company communicates with the people in the town during loud mine activities (such as blasting), and answered the multitude of questions I had for him. In addition, I told him about my decision to become a mining and minerals engineer, my work experience in this field and course work at Virginia Tech's Mining and Minerals Engineering department, as well as the present and future of the mining sector in Sierra Leone and in the United States. Towards the end of my tour, I also got to speak with the head of the engineering department at Koidu Limited, Mr. Thomas Philips.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson in
Koidu Limited Kimberlite Diamond Mine

Left-Right:
Mr. James Kamara (Miss SLUSA's driver),
Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson,
Mr. Christo Swanepoel (General Manager & Mining Engineer), and
Mr. Julius Aruna (Human Resources & Administrative Manager

Left-Right:
Mr. Christo Swanepoel (General Manager),
Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson,
Mr. Julius Aruna (Human Resources & Administrative Manager)

On this day a blast was to be done in K2 (Pipe 2) in the afternoon, so during the times that I was driven around the site I heard announcements on the local radio notifying the community about it for safety reasons; the announcements were done in Kono and Krio. The purpose of this is to notify the people in the local area about the noise, and to stay clear just in case some flyrocks go out of bounds during the blast. After my tour and on my way out, I saw some vendors and residents living close to the mine leaving to stay clear for the blast that was to take place. According to Mr. Swanepoel, rarely do flyrocks go outside the mine, however, the company visits close areas in the community to verify that everyone is safe after every blast.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson in front of a haul truck

Visiting Koidu Limited was my last official visit during my Homecoming, and honestly I couldn't think of a better way to end my tour. If you follow me on facebook, you'll be familiar with my saying: "I trade my Miss Sierra Leone USA crown for a hard hat, my sash for a vest, and my heels for a steel-toe boots as a mining engineer!" I may be biased, but this visit was one of my favorite because I was in an area that I'm knowledgeable about; not to sound cliche, but I felt right at home and skipped around the mine all day. The engineers and staff could definitely see how excited I was! 

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

This visit was very important to me because it correlates with one of the pillars of my personal platform (advocating for SHERO) as Miss Sierra Leone USA which is Education. Also, I believe that a woman's place CAN be the house, MINES/QUARRY, hospital, court, office, Church/Mosque, theater, school, studio, lab, etc. As a woman in a field that is predominantly male such as engineering, I actively advocate for the recruitment and retention of girls and women in STEM (Science. Technology. Engineering. Mathematics) fields. I believe that the equal inclusion of girls and women in STEM is essential because we are valuable assets in the progress of these careers, and investing in girls' education in these fields is an investment in a successful community.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Mr. Thomas Philips (Head of Engineering Department and Mining Engineer)
and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson - The Mining and Minerals Engineer

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson
Check out the visitor badge!

Overall, I really enjoyed this visit and had a great chat with the staff and engineers, as well as a great tour of the site. I'm very thankful to Koidu Limited for welcoming me to their operations, and being such great hosts to their Miss Sierra Leone USA and mining engineer! I am also grateful for Dr. Fuambai Sia Ahmadu (Owner of the Miss SLUSA Pageant) and the Miss Sierra Leone in DC (MSLDC Inc.) organization for this fantastic opportunity, they're truly the best for always providing the greatest opportunities for their Queen! I was sad to leave but I had to before late afternoon because I had to get back on the road to head back to Freetown. I spent another day in Freetown with family and friends, and headed back to the United States the day after to take my final exams in college.

Mr. James Kamara (Miss SLUSA's driver) and
Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 eating lunch in Koidu Limited's Canteen

Fambul den, this blog post marks the end of Week 2 and my Official Salone Homecoming as Miss Sierra Leone USA. But, look out for an upcoming blog post that involves my activities that were non-related to my Miss SLUSA activities and observations about Sierra Leone.

Ruby B. Johnson,

Your Miss Sierra Leone USA.

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