town, west-central Sierra Leone, western Africa. A traditional trade centre of the Marampa–Masimera chiefdom for rice and palm oil and kernels, it developed after 1933 with the exploitation of iron ore, mined at Marampa, 4 miles (6 km) east. The Marampa mine closed down in 1975. The town has a number of institutions, including a government health centre, a Roman Catholic hospital, a Young Muslims' Association, and several schools. Pop. (2004) 36,108.