"-And Jean-Jacques Minister Bouya work known as the defender of...

"-And Jean-Jacques Minister Bouya work known as the defender of Chinese interests in Congo-Brazzaville has been the subject of intense lobbying in recent weeks. According to our sources encountered on site Brazzaville but seems reluctant to validate the proposed Beijing project: the construction of a railway over 1500 km to facilitate the removal of minerals from the port of Pointe-Noire.

Seems ROC is lobbying PRC to fund rail to port of Pointe-Noire. The same bs that's happening to simandou project, but no one will comment on progress. "


It's just a lot of talk and nobody dared to advance any cost figures if going by rail to port of Pointe-Noire...1500km of railway (lol)..

The equation is quite simple : there are NO transport solution if they opt going thru Congo Brazza to Pointe Noire port.

They have done a study and the ONLY optimal route is to using rail for the transport of iron thru Cameroon but not thru ROC, and there are many reasons:

1. Economic
To build rail thru Cameroon to Lalobe port, it will cost them $2 billions, whereas going to Congo Pointe-Noire port, they have estimated the cost will be betweem $8 to 10 billions. So the project is only economically viable thru Cameroon route.

2. Environmental problem
The rail selective route thru Cameroon is rather flat, and it's a direct line to Lalobe port, with no river to cross and do not require much of displacement of population.

3. Timing
To build a rail to Lalobe will require 3 years, but they don't know how many years it will take if they choose the route to Congo Pointe Noire (port).


Also dont forget Countries like Cameroon, ROC, and Gabon are part of the CEMAC organisation, and they have already laid down a common strategy with a Regional Economic Programme (PER) for moving towards the economic emergence.

As for the Iron Ore, they will establish a regional strategy to reduce investment costs and logistics costs to export ore (re. CEMAC as below)

click here for CEMAC link (hotcopper)

IMO, CEMAC is similar to the Euro zone..

CEMAC (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa) is a regional organization. It was Founded in 1993 to replace the former Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa (UDEAC) of 1964. The organization is based in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic.

Six Countries in Western Central Africa are members of CEMAC: Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Chad, and Equatorial Guinea. More than 35 million people live in the CEMAC member states. CEMAC is part of the CFA Zone, where all of the member states are Francophone countries,with the exception of Equatorial Guinea, where the state is spoken Spanish. The CEMAC region is rich in mineral resources, with oil and gas exports accounting for 80 per Almost one hundred of the region's exports.

The Vision 2025 of the CEMAC:
The Regional Economic Programme (PER) is the response of the CEMAC, to put countries out of the pack of the poors and moving towards the economic emergence.

The vision is to "make the CEMAC in 2025 an integrated economic space emerging property where taking a stand in security, solidarity and good governance, human development".

The strategic objective of CEMAC is to position themselves long term in major producer alloy base for the European market and produce downstream products for the regional market of construction: rails, concrete iron, gas cylinders

....

2.5 Growth Pillar MINING AND METALLURGY
2.5.1 Establish the prerequisites for resource mining
The basement of the CEMAC countries is rich in mineral resources:
manganese, iron, bauxite, cobalt, nickel, potash, uranium, gold, silver, diamonds, copper, lime stone (marble and limestone pozzolan), tungsten, niobium, etc.. Cameroon has the 6th World Reserve Bauxite (not yet exploited). Gabon is the second largest producer of manganese with 30% of world reserves. At the level of iron reserves in Gabon, Cameroon and Congo are respectively valued at 1 billion tons, 800 million tonnes and 500 million tonnes of ore but with iron contents different. Cameroon has vast deposits of cobalt and nickel, which could allow the operation of specialty alloys.

...

Two metal poles are intended to emerge in the CEMAC zone under competitive advantages the region available. The first is the pole around the exploitation of bauxite and development projects of Aluminium production whose configuration consists of an optimal exploitation of bauxite in Cameroon with its transformation futures up, thanks to two projects RIO TINTO (extension of Plant EDEA 90000 to 400 000 tonnes) and the construction of a pole in the production of aluminum port of Kribi in 2020 designed a production of 1 million tons. Then the second
pole is the pole steel building around the iron mining zone border between Cameroon, Gabon and Congo, home to the important Belinga iron deposits in Gabon (1 million tonnes of high grade iron: 67%) Mbalam in Cameroon with deposits of around 2.4 million tonnes but content varies.
Two separate projects of exploitation of these ore deposits exist in Gabon and Cameroon each provide heavy investment in transport infrastructure.

However, sticking to the vision of a "Green Gabon" whose ambition is to make Gabon, in 2015, the first destination for tourism related to the African rainforest, and a model for national parks of the twenty-first century, the project operating Belinga iron will not be in its present form with the operation Mine, the construction of a deepwater port at Santa Clara and a dam large Hydroelectric Poubara, track construction of railway to connect Belinga to Boou Ntoum and the periphery of the future port of Santa Clara in north Libreville.

Indeed, the Belinga site happens to be in an ecological zone and the realization of current project could destroy the forest ecosystem and inevitably go against the vision of this country. This implies a PER for the redevelopment of existing projects. The regional hub of steel that will emerge will be limited around border region between Cameroon and Gabon as a focal point with the site Mbalam.

The specific infrastructure projects planned in the framework of this cluster Steel border are essentially (i) the development of sea port deep Kribi, the construction of a railway line between Mbalam and Kribi Ramp connects to other production sites to Mbalam.

Regarding project Belinga, the dam of Grand Poubara will to power as sites production of manganese metal and silico-manganese in Moanda (project Eramet). For the moment, there is no formal plan for the recovery of iron ore
place. Existing projects are oriented towards the export of raw ore. Yet CEMAC region have very important assets for the emergence of clusters metalworking exploiting the iron ore. It is also rich metals (manganese, nickel, cobalt ....) which, combined with iron can produce iron alloys. But this requires technological mastery which must planning mastery thanks to partnerships with steel groups need to attract and create the conditions for investment within relocations.

The use of hydroelectric power provided under the PER and production electricity from gas will have a very competitive cost electricity and sustainable. The interconnection of electricity networks will provide the energy necessary for metallurgical processing sites and bring electricity in Other principal mining sites.

Besides the availability of energy, the CEMAC is close to major markets such as European Union with which it negotiates an economic partnership agreement in the framework of ECCAS. The issue of market access is therefore an essential competitiveness.
To achieve this ambition, it is essential beyond the assets, know where one starts and what are our major handicaps. CEMAC is for example very deprived in terms its infrastructure. Mining and metallurgical industries erection (Aluminum and iron) require significant efforts to achieve infrastructure energy and transportation, related logistics services.


2.5.3 Becoming a major ferro-alloys
Today, three countries, Cameroon, Gabon and Congo, have resources iron ore. There were two projects major resource extraction of iron Gabon and Cameroon.

In Gabon, it is envisaged to run the hydroelectric dam at Grand Poubara ensure a power of 160 MW and a 280 MW second phase to cover needs of a steelworks carried by Eramet Manganese (COMILOG). The Gabon, by the Ogooue Mining Company (COMILOG), a subsidiary of French group Eramet, now produces about 3 million tonnes of manganese per year transported to the port of Owendo south of Libreville by the railway Transgabon. Gabon's reserves are the second largest producer of manganese for the steel industry. Eramet has plans to build a metallurgical complex in Moanda, including a plant silico-manganese a annual capacity of 65 000 tonnes and a manganese metal plant of 20 000 tonnes year. The implementation of the project requires the construction of the hydroelectric
Grand Poubara and strengthening the power grid connecting the dam metallurgical complex.

In Cameroon, the exploitation of iron Mbalam which individual deposits are estimated 2.4 billion tonnes of ore a significant low-ore, is under concession for the benefit of the Australian mining company Sundance Resources. The project involves construction of a railway linking Mining Mbalam port of Kribi and the development of a port ore in the port for the export of ore.

There is, however, that the logical operating across national supersede the following characteristics: a logging concession in each country comprising establishment of infrastructure for the delivery and export of ore, separate projects of infrastructure in each country to evacuate the iron ore to the two ports in each project countries, despite the location of the ore in the same border area adjacent to both countries and focusing on the export of raw ore project without recovery site.
A true regional strategy is possible with the pooling of infrastructure of iron mining and the construction of a regional steel industry. The pooling of railway projects and development of mineral ore ports to iron mining would reduce investment costs and logistics costs export ore. These savings will give States a bargaining more important towards candidates for logging concessions. The aim would then erected around the steel industry with a regional transforming part of iron ore, steel and other ferro-alloys, manganese Gabon, nickel and cobalt Lomi in Cameroon, an industrial friendly gradually SME specialized in the production of many materials construction for the construction, industry ...

Local processing of ores for ferro-alloys should be encouraged, particularly needs to capture significant market MGB regional turmoil. The rich Gabon and Cameroon in iron and manganese opens the way for the development of production industry ferromanganese alloy primary steel industry.

The strategic objective of CEMAC is to position ourselves long term in major producer alloy base for the European market and produce downstream products for the regional market of construction: rails, concrete iron, gas cylinders ...
To achieve this objective, the development of metallurgical industries will be through the establishment of a regional cluster of steel that be positioned near the major production of iron ore.
Export-oriented, the center will consolidate the activities upstream and downstream of the die Metallurgy and attract a multitude of actors and companies. The pole can take as a Special Economic Zone providing benefits in terms of taxation and rights holder and administrative facilities. The ultimate ambition is to build a competitive regional cluster around the core business or activities of cluster heads.
Eventually, the cluster of steel "Ferroalloys" will configuration activities said heads of cluster brings together companies exporters: ironworks production of steel and iron alloys, SMEs producing and exporting in particular regional markets, a variety of materials based on iron and iron alloys in particular building materials metal for construction of regional markets. These activities will induce a significant amount of support issued by companies: upstream: Operating iron ore, service companies vocational, Interim, electricity supply, business outsourcing, business services (Accounting, housing, hotels, restaurants ...) The erection logistics services ... such a cluster requires a basic nfrastructure including: the development and equipment siting of the pole (servicing, external works, electrification, infrastructure and ICT services, financial services such as banking & insurance, postal services, health services, developing a business framework specifically adapted to the reality a cluster (including regulatory and tax matters customs, access to market and export). A strong authority, institution with a legitimacy to the highest level (Heads of State) will administer the pole, as an interface between businesses and state governments to ensure respect for their rights but also their duties, to ensure the quality and Compliance services delivered (customs, taxation ...) the pole, acting as interface related services (customs, taxation, control services ...). The authority will act very important animation division, representation and management of partnerships, promotion to attract investment.
Investment promotion requires the establishment of links with the visibility mining and metallurgical operators, promotion of skilled pole, a device competitive intelligence with surveillance criteria of competitiveness in the collection, inventory management needs and the adequacy of programs and products training device ...

click here for CEMAC link