Short-term projects
The Kribi-Lobé iron ore mining project, carried out by SINOSTEEL CAM S.A under the mining licence No. 154 by decree No. 2022/273 of 1 July 2022 for the industrial mining of the Lobe iron ore deposit in the Southern region. This project has actually and technically started on the 16 of November 2023 and is based on reserves estimated at around 632.82 million tonnes of magnetite with an average iron content of 33%. The first iron exports by SINOSTEEL CAM S.A are expected for mid-2025 with a yearly production target of 10 million tonnes of 33% iron, giving 4 million tonnes of iron concentrated at over 60%. The project, 60% of whose equipment is already in Cameroon, will create more than 600 direct jobs and 1,000 indirect jobs.
The Bipindi-Grand Zambi iron ore mining project is being carried out by G-Stones Resources S.A. under the mining licence No. 223 by Decree No. 2022/524 of 29 November 2022 which has actually been in operation since June 2023. According to this project based on the mining of a deposit with around 150 million tonnes of magnetite ore with an average iron content of 29.45%, is divided into several phases, with the first exports of iron concentrated scheduled for December 2024 at a rate of 2 million tonnes of iron concentrated per year. To date, the company has already imported a mobile crusher with a capacity of 300 tonnes per hour, drilled 112 wells totalling more than 11,900 metres and signed a contract with Shangai SBM for the construction of a mobile crusher with a capacity of 1,000 tonnes per hour. The project will contribute to create more than 3,500 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs.
The project to mine the Mbalam-Nabeba iron ore deposit was carried out by CAMEROON MINING COMPANY SARL pursuant to Decree No. 2022/395 of 17 August 2022 giving the mining licence No. 781 to the said company. The project actually started on the 22 of December 2023 with deposit’s reserves of approximately 805 million tonnes with an average iron content of 62.30%. The first phase of the project involves mining the rich ore for 10 years at an expected rate of 1.5 million tonnes per year in the form of DSO to start with. Eventually, the rate is targeted at 10 million tonnes per year before getting into the second phase involving the commissioning of the enriching plant in the eleventh year to valorise the poor ore whose reserves are estimated at 2,325 million tonnes of itabirite with an average iron content of 36.9%. The first exports are scheduled to June 2024 as the project is expected to create more than 12,000 jobs during the construction phase, and approximately 2,000 jobs during the operating phase
The Colomine small-scale gold mining project in the Eastern region led by CODIAS S.A., holder of the small-scale mining licence No. 394 issued by Order No. AR000317/A/MINMIDT/SG/DM/SDCM of 14 September 2022. The project which started up at the end of 2022 and was restructured in 2023, has estimated reserves of 1,867.42 kilograms of gold and an annual production of around 500 kilograms of gold. The said project, creating more than 500 direct jobs and 1,500 indirect jobs, will enable the country to increase its reserves of gold through the collection of synthetic tax, and to improve the sustainability of Cameroon’s public finances. It also highlights the new “Carbon in Leach” closed system for gold mining, which will significantly improve production yields and reduce the impact of mining on the environment.
Medium-term projects
The Nkamouna-Lomié Cobalt-Nickel-Manganese industrial mining project in the Eastern region is being carried out by GEOVIC CAMEROON S.A., holder of the mining licence No. 33 issued by Decree No. 2003/077 of 11th April 2003. Reserves sustaining that project are estimated at 68.13 million tonnes, and the annual production is expected to reach around 13.5 tonnes of Cobalt, 3.3 tonnes of Nickel, and 62,800 tonnes of Manganese. Although the project has been on hold for around ten years, it could be resumed in the next few months with the arrival of Phoenix Mining Ltd, which now owns 100% of Geovic Ltd and has SINOHYDRO as its strategic partner for the construction of the open-cast mine, XINHAI for the construction of an optimal processing unit to obtain a more profitable 4% cobalt-nickel concentrate, ENFI for the industrial processing of the ore and GLENCORE for the Geodic marketing of the finished product on the national and international markets. The restructuring process, which began in February 2023 with this new partner, is currently experiencing some administrative problems. However, once MINMIDT will be fully done with the restructuring, the project could fortunately begin in 2024.
The Nkout iron ore industrial mining project, whose exploration licence was renewed for the third time by Order No. 000730/MINMIDT/SG/DM/SDCM of 06 February 2015 and for the fourth time by Order No. AR000469/A/MINMIDT/SG/DM/SDCM of 13 April 2017 was granted to CAMINEX S.A. In addition, a change of programme was granted to the said company by Order No. AR000087/A/MINMIDT/SG/DM/SDCM dated 1 April 2020. The exploration work revealed itabirite reserves estimated at 2.7 billion tonnes with an iron content of 32.9% and 25 million tonnes with an iron content of 60%. During the first phase of DSO operations, the company’s objective is to export the said 25 million tonnes. Then, in the second phase involving ore beneficiation, an annual production is envisaged at around 92 million tonnes per year. However, negotiations are currently under way with a view to merging the Nkout iron ore mining project with the Mbalam iron ore mining project, for an economic optimisation of the two projects, and to homogenise the products from the two neighbouring deposits, which will benefit from the proximity of the railway line for transporting the ore to the Port Authority of Kribi.
There is also the Ntem iron ore mining project in the South region, for which CAMINEX was awarded an exploration licence, renewed for the third time by Order No. 000730/MINMIDT/SG/DM/SDCM of 06 February 2015, and granted for the fourth time by Order No. 000730/MINMIDT/SG/DM/SDCM of 13 April 2017, and granted a change of programme by Order No. AR000087/A/MINMIDT/SG/DM/SDCM of 1 April 2020. Exploration work on this licence has highlighted Itabirite reserves estimated at 96.60 million tonnes with an iron content of 34.92%, and an annual production of 10 million tonnes of ore is envisaged.
The Ngovayang iron ore mining project is being carried out by CAMINA S.A, the holder of the exploration licence renewed for the fourth time by Order No. AR000328/A/MINMIDT/SG/DM/SDCM of 23rd April 2022. Exploration work on this licence has resulted in an inferred resource estimate of 111.42 million tonnes of magnetite gneiss for the Melombo East target, with an average iron concentration of 69.30%. An additional 1,595 metres of drilling led by the company, whose majority shareholder is the steel and metallurgy behemoth JINDAL, is under way to carry out a pre-feasibility study. The company also aims to set up an iron ore processing plant by 2024, and has already taken the necessary steps.
The Mborguéné small-scale gold mine project in the Eastern region is being developed by CAMINCO S.A., whose technical and financial partner is the Chinese company SHANDONG GOLD. Reserves amount to around 7,554 kilograms of gold metal, with a production of 1,230 kilograms over the first three years from oxides and 552 kilograms per year over the last seven years from mixed oxides and sulphides. The project will also highlight the new “Carbon in Leach” closed system for gold mining, which will increase production efficiency and reduce the impact of mining on the environment.
Long-term projects
The Bibemi industrial gold mining project located in the North Region of Cameroon is being carried out by ORIOLE RESOURCES, the holder of an exploration licence renewed for the first time by Order No. 001937/MINMIDT/SG/DM/SDCM of 26 March 2014 and subsequently by Orders No. AR000492/MINMIDT/SG/DM/SDCM of 27 April 2017 and No. A000288/A/MINMIDT/SG/DM/SDCM of 05th October 2020 for the second and third renewals. The project also benefited from a change of programme for exploration licence No. 217, known as Bibemi, by Order No. AR000332/A/MINMIDT/SG/DM/SDCM of 26 September 2022. The exploration work has enabled the potential of the deposit to be reassessed and it now stands at three hundred and seventy-five thousand (375,000) ounces, an increase of 21% compared with the three hundred and five thousand ounces announced in 2022 after the first assessment of the deposit’s potential. An additional drilling campaign is currently under way in the field with the aim to estimating the resource and finalising the feasibility study, and the company expects to apply for a mining licence by the end of 2024. To this end, the company has already teamed up with BCM International Ltd, a subsidiary of the Australian group Bayswater Contracting, which has proven experience and technical expertise in the mining sector.
The Minim-Martap bauxite mining project is being carried out by CAMALCO, the holder of exploration licence No. 513, known as Minim-Martap, located in the Tibati, Ngaoundal and Martap subdivisions in the Adamawa region. The project involves exploiting reserves of approximately 99.1 million tonnes of high-quality bauxite.
The Fongo-Tongo bauxite mining project, whose reserves are estimated at 46 million tonnes of bauxite with an average grade of 47% aluminium oxide. The said project, which is an asset for Cameroon as part of the development of the bauxite-alumina-aluminium sector, is subject to a Notice of Expression of Interest.
The Mayo-Binka iron ore mining project by G-Stones Resources S.A., which will strengthen Cameroon’s position on the world market as an iron ore producer.
The Akonolinga rutile mining project, for which ERAMET’s exploration work has resulted in a measured resource estimate of 454,000 tonnes of rutile, is also subject to a Notice of Expression of Interest.
The project to optimise the exploitation of the Mintom deposit’s value chains with a view to transforming its limestone into clinker and marble, which will halve the price of a bag of cement in Cameroon; and to obtain fertilisers from the deposit’s dolomite, which will inevitably be important for the large-scale production of local flours. Moreover, it will ultimately not only drastically reduce the production of local flours, but also make them competitive with wheat flour.
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