Cameroon - Boosting the mining sector

The mining sector represents less than 11.3 tons of GDP and less than 0.11 tons of exports. Yet the country possesses immense resources, notably iron and bauxite, the exploitation of which could propel the sector to become one of the most important in the local economy.

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Cameroon possesses significant mineral reserves. In 2019, the Cameroonian subsoil revealed new riches: no fewer than 300 mineral discoveries were made in five regions of the country. The Northwest, Centre, West, Adamawa, East, North, and Far North regions contain minerals such as cobalt, copper, nickel, gold, rare earth elements, rutile, and manganese. In addition, there are base metals like lead and zinc. Other resources could be discovered. According to experts, Cameroon's mineral potential is currently known to the tune of 401 million tonnes.

For a long time, enormous reserves of iron ore and bauxite have been identified in Cameroon, but a lack of transport capacity has hampered their exploitation. However, ongoing railway developments promise to accelerate their development. Many projects are nearing completion. The Bénéné deposit has an exploitable reserve of 34.9 million tonnes of raw bauxite ore with an average alumina grade of 51.91 TP3T. The company will mine 1.5 million tonnes of bauxite per year over a 20-year period. The ore will initially be exported from the Minim Martap mine of Australian company Canyon Resources, which will develop the mine with its partner Zhongye Changtian International Engineering Corporation (MCC-CIE). Camrail will transport up to 5 million tonnes per year to Douala in Phase 1, possibly starting at the end of 2023, but in the long term, Canyon intends to use the deeper port of Kribi. Investors will be able to use much of the same railway and a new line is expected to be built branching off from the main railway towards Kribi.

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The National Mining Company (Sonamines), a young public enterprise, is now responsible for defending the State's interests in the sector. Sonamines has signed two production-sharing agreements with Cimenteries du Cameroun (Cimencam, part of the Holcim Group) for limestone mining in Figuil in the north of the country and for the development of their new clinker and cement production plant, scheduled to begin operations in 2023, representing an investment of 50 billion CFA francs (over 76.2 million euros). To finance its projects, Sonamines uses Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), also known as debt funds, which are jointly owned financing vehicles that allow it to issue debt securities that are then sold to investors.

Furthermore, to regulate gold mining, Sonamines is trying to bring order to artisanal gold panning activities in order to increase state revenue. It aims for a target of 200 kilos by 2022, representing 5 billion CFA francs in revenue.

If Cameroon's mines deliver on their promises, through the major development projects at the Mbalam and G-Stones sites for iron, Lomié for cobalt and nickel, Minim Martap for bauxite, and Akonolinga for rutile, Sonamines will automatically inherit 101.3 tons of the shares – a percentage that could rise to 251.3 tons. From barely 11.3 tons currently, the sector's share of national wealth should increase tenfold by the end of the decade.

On July 1, 2022, President Paul Biya signed a decree granting Sinosteel Cam SA, a subsidiary of the Chinese company Sinosteel, a mining permit for the Lobé iron ore deposit in Kribi. This mining title covers an area of 138 km² with an estimated mineral potential of 632.8 million tons of iron ore. The agreement, initially for a period of 10 years, stipulates an annual production of 4 million tons of iron ore enriched to 601 metric tons, which will then be shipped via the port of Kribi. The expected annual revenue for the Cameroonian state is estimated at 22.9 billion metric tons, excluding taxes and dividends.

The rutile deposit identified in the Akonolinga area of the country's central region is expected to be mined starting in 2025 by the French group Eramet, which is responsible for developing this mining project. Eramet is one of the most successful mining companies in Cameroon. The upcoming results could make Cameroon a global leader in rutile. Currently, Cameroon's rutile potential is estimated at around 3 million tons, making the country the second largest reserve of this mineral in the world, after Sierra Leone.

OPPORTUNITIES
With recent mining discoveries, Cameroon is poised to become a new destination for mining projects in Africa, attracting new investors. 601 TPH (Total Percentage of Land, Water, and Mineral Resources) of the national territory have not yet been explored. These 601 TPH are therefore available for potential investors to conduct mineral exploration. The long-term development of a processing industry is also noteworthy. The mining code stipulates a minimum of 151 TPH for processing locally produced minerals.