 In 2005, SL Minerals was awarded the exclusive prospecting license for iron ore in the Bagla Hills area.However, in May 2009, Global Witness reported it had been told by the Director of Geological Surveys that SL Minerals had defaulted on a payment and gone into liquidation.Around 2009, President of Sierra Leone Ernest Bai Koroma went to London, seeking investors to help his nation recover from the Sierra Leone Civil War (1991-2002).