Moanda
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Moanda Abu Bakry Sidik |
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 Moanda
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| Coordinates: 1°34′0″S 13°12′0″E / 1.56667°S 13.20000°E | |
| Country |
 Gabon
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| Province | Haut-Ogooué Province |
| Department | Lemboumbi-Leyou Department |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 39,298 |
Moanda is one of the largest towns in Gabon, lying on the N3 road in Haut Ogooué. It is also one of the most important manganese mining towns in the world, under the auspices of the Compagnie Minière de l'Ogooué (COMILOG), which began mining in 1957. Moanda has a population of around 39,298 inhabitants (2010 est.) and is the second largest city in the Haut Ogooué Region, after Franceville. It is also a border town, lying 100 km away from the border with the Republic of Congo.
Moanda was originally a village lying on the swampy banks of the Miosso River. The discovery and exploitation of manganese in the nearby Bangombe Plateau from 1953 led to the emergence of the city. In 1977 Moanda had an estimated 230 million tons of manganese, some one-fifth of the world's deposits. In 1959, the 75 km COMILOG Cableway to the railway at Mbinda in the Republic of Congo was constructed to export the manganese, but it was eventually closed in 1986 when the Trans-Gabon Railway was completed. The city further grew during the 1990s owing to an influx of refugees from then war-torn Republic of Congo.
Moanda lies on several adjacent plateaus lying between the higher and larger Bangombe plateau in the north, and the Miosso swamp in the south. Rocky formations Mount Boundinga and Mount Moanda lie further south.
The climate is equatorial, with an alternation of thunderstorms and hot temperatures between January and March, and cool temperatures from July to September.
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Wikipedia