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Sierra-Leone has deposits of brown coal, iron, titanium, chromite, bauxites, gold, platinum and diamonds as well as occurrences of tin, molybdenum, rare metals, asbestos, rock salt, kaolin and semiprecious stones.
Sierra Leone at the End of the Twentieth Century: History, Politics, and Society
by Earl Conteh-Morgan
Conteh-Morgan and Dixon-Fyle have crafted a competent study that at once presents a comprehensive overview of this West African state while situating their analysis within the framework of major theoretical insights extant on politics in the developing world. The result is both a complete and concise study of Sierra Leone's political history from precolonial times up to and including the political convulsions of the late 1990s.
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Main mineral reserves of Sierra-Leone as of January 2000 are:
Brown coal |
mln tons |
23,2 |
22 |
- |
- |
Iron |
mln tons |
1123 |
400 |
60% |
- |
Titanium |
mln tons |
170 |
- |
in sands 1,8% |
8 thousand tons |
Chromites |
mln tons |
2,5 |
- |
44% |
- |
Bauxites |
mln tons |
500 |
170 |
55% |
99,2 thousand tons |
Diamonds |
mln carats |
30 |
5 |
primary- 0,9 carats/ton
placers- 1 carats/m3 |
0,3 mln carats |
Gold |
tons |
40 |
14 |
primary- 5 gr/ton
placers- 1 gr/m3 |
0,1 tons |
Below you will find brief information on minerals that could make the real base of marketable raw materials.
Oil and gas. Sierra-Leone has no explored oil fields, although on the sea shelf near Turner sea bar oil-favorable structures were discovered.
Titanium. Sierra-Leone is one of Africa's biggest titanium ore producers.
Mogvemo deposit is situated on the coastal plain near Gbangbama town. Rutile-bearing sands are common here in the 8-km radius. The deposit has been developed since 1979. An artificial basin was created here, and one of the most powerful dredges in the world was set up. Its production speed reaches 16 thousand tons of ore in an hour. Sand reserves are assessed differently - from 110 to 187 mln tons which is equivalent to 2 or 3 mln tons of rutile. Average rutile content in the sands counts 1.8%. Rutile content in the produced concentrate totals 95-98%. Full capacity of the pit makes 100-125 thousand tons of concentrate.
For 50 km to the north and to the south of Mogvemo, rutile-bearing placers can be traced. The region is being studied.
Bredford-Rotifounk deposit is situated near two villages of the same name in the Southern province. The seaboard placer of rutile is being explored by an Australian company. Full capacity of the mine makes up 200 thousand tons of rutile in a year. More rutile placers are located on the isle of Sherborough.
Rutile-bearing sands can also be found in the northern coastal lands of Sierra-Leone.
Apart from the seaboard rutile placers, the country has magma titanium-magnetite deposits. The largest of these is called Freetown deposit, situated on Cape Sierra-Leone. The mineralization (ilmenite, titanium-magnetite, platinum) is located in stratified mass of ultrabasic rocks, composed of gabbro, troctolite, anorthosite. The size of the mass is 30 by 11 kilometers. The thickness of the stratified section - 6,000 meters. Widely developed are sedimentary ferrous lateritic crusts. The mineralization is represented by lens-like bodies, layers and veins, together with embedded particles of ilmenite and titanium-magnetite. The alluvium of the currents washing away the rocks of the complex also contains: ilmenite, titanium-magnetite, platinum.
Bauxites. Total bauxite reserves are assessed at 500 mln tons.
Bauxite formations are related to the Kasile series' rock development zone in the west and the south-west of Sierra-Leone.
The deposit of Mokanji is located in the Southern province. Its reserves are estimated to reach 50 mln tons of bauxites. The ores contain 49 to 61% of Al2O3, 1.8 to 3.0 % of SiO2, and 12 to 20 % of Fe203.
This deposit was developed since 1963. The ores are exported mainly to Germany, through the port of Niti.
The deposit of Port-Loko is not far from the village of the same name. Its total reserves are believed to amount to 100 mln tons of bauxites, including 77 mln tons of explored bauxite reserves. Al2O3 content is 47%.
The Gbonga deposit is situated 40 km to the south-east of Mokanji. Bauxites sre of medium quality: 44% of Al2O3 and increased silica content. Ore reserves are scarce. The Kambia deposit lies close to the town of Kambia. Its reserves count 60 mln tons of ore with 45 to 55% aluminum oxide.
Gold and Diamonds
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