Mbalam-Nabeba Iron Ore Project: Cameroon, Congo adopt guidelines for smooth kickoff.

The recommendations were adopted at the end of a three-day meeting on practical modalities to kick-start the cross-border project, worth billions of FCFA in revenue and iron ore deposits, estimated at hundreds of millions of tonnes.

The strategic meeting took place in Ouesso, Sangha Division of the Republic of Congo. 

The Cameroon delegation to the meeting was led by the Secretary of State, Interim Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, Prof Fuh Calistus Gentry. 

Congo’s experts at the high-level meeting were led by the country’s Minister of State, Minister of Mining, Industries and Geology, Pierre Oba.

The well-coordinated gathering provided a platform for participants from both nations to reflect on issues to be resolved before the exploitation phase to kick-off the project, which experts say is a pricy economic catch for both countries.

At the end of the meeting, the stakeholders from both countries agreed that the rail from Mbalam to Kribi will be increased from 540 km from to 610 km from Nabeba to Mbalam and Kribi.

With iron ore contents between both countries varying between 62% and 70%, it was also agreed that ore from both sites will be blended to obtain a standard grade of 70%.

It was also adopted that the promotion of steel activities around the mine will be encouraged by giving incentives to companies as a pull factor (industrial companies) to set up their plants close to the mine to encourage product processing.

Both parties, it was agreed, will meet in Sangmelima, Cameroon, at the beginning of August, to set the terms and conditions for the laying of the foundation stone, scheduled for the end of August, to mark the effective start of the project.

Revisiting Prof Fuh Calistus’ declaration at opening 

Prof Fuh Calistus had used the opening to announce the laying of the foundation stone for the project at the end of August. 

He said government had over the past months “been in constant contact with Best Way Financial Resources and Cameroon Mining Company, to ensure that all the necessary measures are in place for the effective start-up of the project”.

Prof Fuh Calitus had also used opening to officially extend the invitation of the government of Cameroon, to Congo, to visit the site at the beginning of August 2023, in order to make the technical and diplomatic arrangements necessary for the holding of the event. 

“Indeed, the management of the Mbalam-Nabeba Iron Ore mega project is a challenge that translates into action the irreversible determination of our two Heads of State, to see this project get off the ground, as an exemplary example of South-South cooperation, helping to consolidate Subregional cooperation,” Prof Fuh Calistus had said. 

Cameroon, Prof Fuh Calistus had noted, “can no longer afford to be left behind in the mining sector”. He insisted that the “time for procrastination is over”.

He recalled that following the announcement of President Paul Biya last December, prescribing the start-up of three major iron ore projects including Mbalam, Kribi-lobé and Akom II, government has identified twelve mining projects in the country, including five that are due to start in 2023.

He disclosed that in the context of valorising the mining sector, Cameroon plans to organise the International Conference on Mining and Expositions, CIMEC, in 2024, with plans to welcome the Republic of Congo as co-organiser. 

Project to help strengthen ties 

Prof Fuh Calistus had said the meeting Congo was an indication of the strong determination and commitment of the Heads of State of both nations to work together, in strict compliance with the principles of sovereignty, to overcome all the challenges that may hinder the start of the project and define the axes of its effectiveness. 

He was optimistic that the development of the project would help strengthen the fraternal relations that have always existed between both countries.

The project, he had disclosed, has multiple gains assessed in terms of jobs, tax and customs revenues, contribution to environmental rehabilitation and restoration, collection of the state's share in production and other substantial revenues linked to the local processing of ores and impact on the cost of products derived from this activity.