The economy of Sierra Leone is that of a least developed country with a GDP of approximately 1.9 billion USD in 2009. Since the end of the civil war in 2002 the economy is gradually recovering with a GDP growth rate between 4 and 7%. In 2008 its GDP in PPP ranked between 147th and 153rd (CIA) largest in the world.
There are a number of systems of transport in Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa, which possess road, rail, air and water infrastructure, including a network of highways and several airports.
Siaka Probyn Stevens was the leader of Sierra Leone from 1967 to 1985, serving as Prime Minister from 1967 to 1971 and as President from 1971 to 1985. Stevens' leadership was often characterised by patrimonial rule and self worship, consolidating power by means of corruption and exploitation.
Pepel is a coastal town in the Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone.
Tonkolili District is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Magburaka. The other major towns include Masingbi, Yele, Mile 91, Bumbuna, Yonibana, Matotoka. Mathora, Magbass and Masanga. Tonkolili District is home to the largest sugar factory in Sierra Leone, and one of the largest sugar factories in West Africa, that is located in the town of Magbass. Tonkolili District had a population of 530,776. The district occupies a total area of 7,003 km2 (2,704 sq mi) and comprises eleven chiefdoms.
Marampa Mines is the site of an hematite iron ore mine based in the town of Lunsar, Port Loko District, Sierra Leone.
The Rokel River is the largest river in the Republic of Sierra Leone in West Africa. The river basin measures 10,622 square kilometres (4,101 sq mi) in size, with the drainage divided by the Gbengbe and Kabala hills and the Sula Mountains. The estuary which extends over an area of 2,950 square kilometres (1,140 sq mi) became a Ramsar wetland site of importance in 1999.
Port Loko District is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. It is the most populous District in the North and the second most populous District in Sierra Leone, after the Western Area Urban District. As of the 2015 census, Port Loko District has a population of 614,063. The district capital is the town of Port Loko and its largest city is Lunsar. The other major towns in the district include Masiaka, Rokupr, Pepel, Lungi and Gbinti.
Titanium mining in Africa has been beset by environmental problems due to the polluting nature of processing rutile, a principal titanium ore. Titanium production in Africa includes the following principal countries and companies.
Iron ore production in Africa is dominated by South Africa, Mauritania and Algeria; Zimbabwe and Morocco produce ore for use within the country. Many countries possess iron ore deposits that are as yet untapped/unmined. Countries and companies currently involved in production are listed here; measurements are in tpy, or tonnes per year.
The Sierra Leone prinia, also known as the white-eyed prinia, is a species of bird in the Cisticolidae family. It is found in Ivory Coast, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Its natural habitat is thickets and forest edge, especially in the transition zone between submontane forest and submontane grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss, especially habitat clearance to establish iron ore mines.
Railway stations in Sierra Leone include:
There are 84 kilometres of railway in Sierra Leone, all of which is private and of a narrow gauge, 1,067 mm.
The Bagla Hills are located in eastern Sierra Leone within Gola Rainforest National Park, created in 2010, near the border with Liberia. The site has been the subject of controversy between developers and conservationists, as it contains a large iron ore deposit. The Bagla Hills are one of the habitats of the endangered Jentink's duiker.
Tagrin Point is the proposed location of a deep water port to replace the older and shallower port of Port Pepel in Sierra Leone. It would be connected to existing and new iron ore mined by an upgraded railway line converted to standard gauge.
The mining industry of Sierra Leone accounted for 4.5 percent of the country's GDP in 2007 and minerals made up 79 percent of total export revenue with diamonds accounting for 46 percent of export revenue in 2008. The main minerals mined in Sierra Leone are diamonds, rutile, bauxite, gold, iron and limonite.
The Tonkolili mine is a large iron mine located in central Sierra Leone in the Northern Province. Tonkolili represents one of the largest iron ore reserves in Sierra Leone and in the world having estimated reserves of 12.8 billion tonnes of ore grading 64% iron metal.
The geology of Liberia is largely extremely ancient rock formed between 3.5 billion and 541 million years ago in the Archean and the Neoproterozoic, with some rocks from the past 145 million years near the coast. The country has rich iron resources as well as some diamonds, gold and other minerals in ancient sediment formations weathered to higher concentrations by tropical rainfall.
The geology of Sierra Leone is primarily very ancient Precambrian Archean and Proterozoic crystalline igneous and metamorphic basement rock, in many cases more than 2.5 billion years old. Throughout Earth history, Sierra Leone was impacted by major tectonic and climatic events, such as the Leonean, Liberian and Pan-African orogeny mountain building events, the Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth and millions of years of weathering, which has produced thick layers of regolith across much of the country's surface.
Marampa Chiefdom is a chiefdom in Port Loko District of Sierra Leone. Its capital is Lunsar.
