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Mbalam mine
Planned iron ore mine in East, Cameroon From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Mbalam mine refers to a series of ongoing attempts to mine iron ore from the Mbalam iron ore deposit in Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo.[1]
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Mbalam Deposit
The Mbalam deposit is located primarily in south-east Cameroon in the East Region, along its southern border with the Republic of the Congo.[1] It also extends into the Congo, where it connects to the Nabeba and Ibanga deposits.[2] The deposit is variously estimated to contain 2.5 billion tonnes (2.5 trillion kg; 5.5 trillion lb) of ore at 40% iron composition,[3] or 800 million tonnes (800 billion kg; 1.8 trillion lb) with 62% iron composition.[4] The deposit was initially identified by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the 1970s and 1980s.[1] Mining proposals in the 2010s aimed for 35-40 million tonnes of annual production from the deposit.[2]: 1 [5]
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Attempts to perform large-scale mining on the Mbalam deposit date back to at least 2005, but plans for the mines have been consistently delayed.
2000s
In 2005, Australia's Sundance Resources incorporated a subsidary company, Cam Iron SA, to begin mining.[1] Sundance/Cam Iron's exploratory drilling began in 2007.[4]
2010s
Nothing more than installation and exploratory work had begun by the mid-2010s, according to Sundance reports and a UNDP grant application.[2][6]: 13 Sundance completed its Definitive Feasibility Study on the first phase of its mining plans in 2011.[7] In 2014, production was expected to start in 2017.[4]
However, Sundance encountered difficulties in finding investors. They were granted at least two extensions to secure additional funding, in July 2017 and early 2018.[8] By 2021, both Cameroon and the Congo had revoked its mining rights to the deposit. Sundance and the two countries have a pending case before the International Court of Arbitration, with an expected resolution no sooner than 2026 for the Cameroonian component.[9]
2020s
In December 2022, Cameroonian President Paul Biya announced the "start of major mining projects", and a joint Cameroonian-Congolese meeting in February 2023 confirmed that work on the joint Mbalam-Nabeba mining project was moving forward.[10] In 2024, Sangha Mining, a Chinese mining company, started a mining project on the deposit. Iron production is supposed to begin in December 2025.[11]
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