91.  Its other mineral resources, off-shore oil deposits plus possible tourist development once the rebellion is crushed, make Sierra Leone an attractive prospect for investors.

92.  Kabila earlier signed a contract with a US mining company to begin exploiting the vast mineral resources of Shaba province, of which Lubumbashi is the capital.

93.  Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, meanwhile, are tiny, impoverished, mountainous countries with small populations that lack the mineral resources of their neighbours.

94.  Mineral resources include diamonds, gold, oil, gas and coal.

95.  Mohamed Swarray Deen and Alpha Wurie retain their respective portfolios as mineral resources minister and education minister.

96.  Oman has stepped up exploration for mineral resources as part of attempts to find new sources of income.

97.  Oman has vast mineral resources and large areas are still unexploited, he added.

98.  Secretary of state for mineral resources Captain Reginald Glover said the money had already been paid by the company, Diamond Corporation of Sierra Leone.

99.  Sierra Leone possesses vast mineral resources, with gold, bauxite and rutile as well as gems.

100.  Such funds went mainly for the exploitation of petroleum and mineral resources in Angola, Gabon, Nigeria and Ghana.