Zanaga District

Zanaga is a district in the Lékoumou Region of the Republic of the Congo.^[4][5] The capital and the largest city of Zanaga is approximately 216 km (134 mi) from the national capital Brazzaville, and 232 km (144 mi) from Kinshasa.^[6]

Zanaga lies in the basin of the Ogooué River, which empties into Gabon to the north. The region consists of a mix of forests and grasslands.^[3] The Ogoué-Leketi National Park was established in 2018 to protect the area.^[7] The topography of the Zanaga district includes several mountains, the highest and most prominent of which is Ballouni at an elevation of 762 m (2,500 ft).^[8]

As per a pre-independence administrative census, the estimated population of the district was 11,316 people.^[9] A 2007 census estimated the population to be 16,649.^[10] The district is well-known for its substantial iron ore deposits, and the Zanaga Iron Ore Project is a significant potential economic driver for the area.^[3][4] While further development on the project was halted in 2015,^[11] it has since secured Chinese investment for further mining and production.^[12]