Nkamouna nickel-cobalt: 19 years after the issuance of the exploitation permit, the project is stalling
On April 11, 2003, Geovic Cameroon PLG, a subsidiary of the American-Canadian mining junior Geovic Mining Corp, obtained Cameroon's very first mining license for the cobalt, nickel and manganese deposit of Nkamouna, a village in the district of Lomié, in the East region. Almost 20 years later, nothing has changed. However, in April 2003, Geovic had presented its bankable feasibility study validated by its board of directors. After analyzing all the declarations made around this company, Geovic has never had the means of its policy.
End of 2017. Tired of waiting for the promises of this company to materialize, the Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development (Minmidt) at the time, Ernest Gbwaboubou, sought the opinion of the Presidency of the Republic on the withdrawal of its operating permit. "The interest that other more serious investors have in the Nkamouna project" and "the fact that Geovic uses this exploration permit for the purposes of speculation on **promotion blocked**s" are the arguments of the Minmidt.
Read also: Cobalt de Lomié: Geovic withdraws from the project and sells its assets to the American Cloudbreak
In response, on February 21, 2018, William Alan Buckovic, the founder of Geovic, will be received by the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic (Sgpr), Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh. That he reassures on his intention to relaunch the project after 5 years of hibernation. On July 25, 2019, the President of the Republic receives the CEO of Geovic, Michael Mason. The latter reminds Paul Biya of “the benefits of the Nkamouna mining project: about 700 direct jobs to be created, technology transfer, training of young Cameroonians, payment of various taxes and duties to the State, etc. Only, two years after this meeting at the top, it is the blackout. Geovic and the Cameroonian government continue to seek the approximately 250 billion FCFA necessary to finance this mining project, that the populations of Lomié and Cameroon as a whole have been waiting for decades. And on which Geovic has been trying in vain to sell its assets for a long time.
Mobilong diamond: the quantities had been overvalued
On May 27, 2009, Badel Ndanga Ndinga, then Minister of Mines, confirmed that the South Korean company C&K Mining (holder of a mining exploration permit issued in 2007, editor's note) had discovered a large diamond deposit in Mobilong and Limokoali , to the East. According to C&K Mining, “its reserves, the largest ever known to date in the world, are estimated at 90 tonnes, or 736 million carats and 5 times the annual world production”. During the operating phase, the company will invest 500 billion FCFA there over 25 years and create 4,000 direct jobs.
However, in euphoria, Paul Nia, a geologist from the Institute of Geological and Mining Research, believes that “it has not yet been proven that this discovery is more important than the deposits in southern Africa”.
And history will prove him right. In September 2011, a Korean opposition MP reveals that, contrary to 2009 figures, the Mobilong deposit is only worth 18 million carats, around 3.3 tons, or 23 times less. Meanwhile, while C&K was only in charge of exploration, the announcement of the Minister of Mines had multiplied by five, in seventeen days, its share price.
The scandal was such that in February 2013, the boss of C&K Mining, Deuk Gyun Oh was imprisoned, then released at the end of September 2014. Despite this, C&K Mining managed to sell the majority of its assets in this mining project to a certain Mr. Yang, billionaire of Chinese origin residing in Hong Kong, holder of an American passport, at the head of a joint venture between Korean and Cameroonian operators. In the case, the Korean partners, until now majority “with more than 50%” in the capital of C&K Mining, only control “less than 10%”, we learn. In one year, the junior mining company had lost more than two thirds of its value. Cameroon, holder of 35% in the capital of C&K Mining, had just been fooled.
Bauxite from Minim-Martap : a wait for exploitation that lasts 116 years
The Australian mining junior Canyon Resources obtained from the Cameroonian government on February 25, the renewal for two additional years of its exploration permit on the bauxite sites of Makan and Ngaoundal, two localities located in the Adamaoua region, as part of the Minim-Martap bauxite mining project. Research has been carried out on the various sites by its Cameroonian subsidiary Camalco since 2018, after three research permits were issued to it by the Government for the last phase of research for the identification of bauxite plateaus in these localities. Camalco thus replaced Cameroon Alumina Ltd (CAL), a joint venture between Hydromine (USA), Dubal Alumina (Emirates) and Hindalgo (India), whose contract had been terminated in 2016,
Read also: Minerals: 5800 billion for the transport of iron and the construction of an ore terminal in Kribi
It should be recalled that the Camalco company has already identified 65 bauxite plateaus on the Minim-Martap, Ngaoundal and Makan sites, for a potential of 892 million tonnes, after analysis of only 16 plateaus. Eventually, the quantities of the deposit could approach 2 billion tons of bauxite, thus making the Cameroonian deposit among the largest in the world, at levels comparable to those of the bauxite plateaus of Guinea, which holds more than 2/3 of the world mineral reserves. For the record, the Minim-Martap mining deposit was discovered in 1906, according to Dynamique Mondiale des Jeunes (DMJ), a civil society organization.
Fer de Nkout : when the construction project of the Mbalam-Kribi railway wakes up the exploitation project
The southern region is full of large iron deposits, including that of Nkout, a village located about thirty kilometers from the locality of Mbalam, and which is not talked about very often. And yet, according to estimates, it has a potential of 2 billion tons of iron expandable to 4 billion tons, according to Cameroon Mining Exploration (Caminex), which holds the exploration permits for this deposit. It is also presented as the most important iron ore in the country.
The company Caminex, a subsidiary of the Libyan Foreign Bank, which highlighted the mine on this site for a few years, is now considering its exploitation, and indicated last year that it intended to seize the Cameroonian authorities to sign an agreement mining in order to develop this project, according to our colleagues from Jeune Afrique. "We intend to relaunch the Cameroonian authorities in the coming days, in order to sign a mining agreement with them for the development of Nkout, for which we hold the exploration permit", had confided the president of Caminex Elias Pungong in the columns of the magazine. pan-african.
Read also: Fer de Mbalam: the Presidency of the Republic entrusts the file to Sonamines
The idea of moving to the stage of exploration for the Nkout ore came in a context marked by the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Cameroon, and the consortium Bestway Finance Ltd and AutSino Resources for the Mbalam railway. -Kribi, 540km long. A ceremony in which had also taken part Elias Pungong. It is obvious that this railway, built as part of the Mbalam ore mining project, would also benefit the transport of iron from Nkout to the port of Kribi.
Rutile from Akonolinga: after Free Mining, Gilla and Sicamines, the hope that comes from Eramet
Like other mining projects spread over the national territory, the Akonolinga rutile mining project (mineralized sand used for the production of pigments and the manufacture of paint as well as airplane cockpits throughout the titanium it contains) in the Center region has experienced many ups and downs which have considerably slowed down the development of this mining deposit, the exploitation of which was to make Cameroon an essential place for the supply of rutile. It is this ambition that has guided the various officials who have succeeded each other at the head of the Cameroonian ministry in charge of mines since the 1990s. To do this, several exploration permits have been granted by the government to various companies. foreign companies specialized in the mining sector, in order to accurately determine the rutiliferous potential of the Akonolinga deposit before considering its exploitation. According to the Support Framework for Artisanal Mining (Capam), a government program aimed at supervising artisanal miners, Free Mining explored this deposit in association with the American company Gilla. The exploration permit which had been allocated to them was subsequently withdrawn in favor of the English company Sicamines, without specifying the cause. The new entity carried out interesting surveys in the Nyong alluvium. However, it had to interrupt the work because of the international financial crisis of 2008. government program intended to supervise artisanal miners, Free Mining explored this deposit in association with the American company Gilla. The exploration permit which had been allocated to them was subsequently withdrawn in favor of the English company Sicamines, without specifying the cause. The new entity carried out interesting surveys in the Nyong alluvium. However, it had to interrupt the work because of the international financial crisis of 2008. government program intended to supervise artisanal miners, Free Mining explored this deposit in association with the American company Gilla. The exploration permit which had been allocated to them was subsequently withdrawn in favor of the English company Sicamines, without specifying the cause. The new entity carried out interesting surveys in the Nyong alluvium. However, it had to interrupt the work because of the international financial crisis of 2008. The new entity carried out interesting surveys in the Nyong alluvium. However, it had to interrupt the work because of the international financial crisis of 2008. The new entity carried out interesting surveys in the Nyong alluvium. However, it had to interrupt the work because of the international financial crisis of 2008.
These preliminary mining exploration campaigns have made it possible to identify a strong rutile potential estimated at 3 million tonnes according to the Strategy Document for Growth and Employment (DSCE). Figures that the French company Eramet tends to confirm, which completed the exploration phase of the same rutiliferous block in 2022, in accordance with the exploration permit it obtained in 2019. World leader in alloy metals, in particular manganese and nickel, with a turnover of more than 3 billion Euros in 2017, Eramet intends (after negotiations with the government) to launch the exploitation of the Akonolinga rutile deposit in 2025.
Bibemi and Wapouze gold : the end of the exploration phase still awaited
In 2020, the government decided to renew for a period of two years the exploration permits held by Oriole Resources on the gold projects of Bibemi (177 km 2 ) in the North region, and Wapouze (136 2 ) located in the same region, 20 km from the first deposit. According to a statement released by the London Stock Exchange in 2020, this was the third license extension for the Bibemi project at the time. As for the second project, it was its second extension. This happy ending prompted the British mining company to announce major drilling work throughout the new lease granted to it.
These included a 3,000m drill program at Bibemi. "Drilling will particularly focus on the recently identified stacked veins at the northern end of the 5.3 kilometer ('km') 'Zone 1' target, where sampling returned up to 35.86 grams per tonne ('g/t') of gold ('Au') from rock chip sampling and best intersection of 9m trenches at 3.14 g/t," the company said. almost 2 years ago. He added that in addition to “preparing the drilling program, Oriole will undertake more detailed mapping (scale 1:2,000) along strike at Bakassi to the northeast. This work is expected to identify additional drill targets to support the full 3,000m program. To date, the Company has completed three phases of drilling for 6,154,
Read also: Sonamines wants to exploit the bauxite deposits of Ngaoundal and Makan
On the side of Wapouze, less advanced than Bibémi, the British company is still working to upgrade the deposit to the status of an asset ready to be drilled. General manager Tim Livesey nevertheless indicated that the recent results obtained indicate a strong probability of mineralization in the localities of Bataol and Bidzar. At the rate at which the work is going, we are entitled to wonder if we are not heading towards yet another extension. Despite this worrying situation, investors continue to trust Oriole Resources. It also financed all of the above-mentioned work thanks to a fundraising of nearly 2 million dollars.
Mbalam mining project: 15 years of promise
The Mbalam iron mining project is located in southern Cameroon, approximately 300 km east-south-east of the city of Yaoundé. Identified since the 1980s, the Australian junior Sundance Resources seized the deposit in March 2006. Initially, it announced that it had acquired 100% interest in Cam Iron, a Cameroonian company holding the EP92 permit covering an area of 875 km2 in the iron ore province of Mbalam.
It is clear that in more than 15 years not a single gram of iron has been produced in Mbalam. Sundance Resources all this time has failed to find the right partners and bring the Mbalam-Nabeba project into production. In May 2008, it declared in Mbalam an inferred mineral resource of 190 million tonnes, which led to the granting of a 2-year extension of its permit.
Read also: Mining sector: exploitation of the Akonolinga rutile deposit announced for 2025
Following the signature of its framework agreement with Cameroon, Sundance then made an initial resource estimate for the adjacent deposit which is located in the neighboring country, Congo in June 2010 for an annual production of 35 million tonnes in addition to 25 years. The same year, Sundance concluded memorandums of understanding with China Harbor Engineering Company which, in 2012, attempted to buy Sundance for 1.65 billion Australian dollars. The cancellation of the buyout deal with Hanlong dealt a serious blow to the project's momentum.
After several attempts to seek funding from Sundance, the Australian AustSino bought Sundance for $58 million. As hopes of seeing Sundance have dimmed over the years, Cameroon is knocking on other doors and announcing a consortium of five Chinese state-owned companies to launch the Mbalam project.
On February 25, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh noted in a correspondence that the exploitation of the iron deposit of Mbalam, held by the Chinese AutSino and Bestway could integrate a larger consortium with five other operators: Yiantian Port, China Railways Corporation Co, Metallurgical Construction Corporation, China Baowu Steel Group, Shanghai Tsingshan Mineral. The Chinese duo, which seems to be in a state of grace with the Cameroonian authorities, should therefore have the potential to transform the Cameroonian mining sector.
