At opening of int’l mining convention in Y’de: PM says gathering avenue to develop, market country’s potentials.

He launched the convention on behalf of the President of the Republic, Paul Biya.

It was in the presence of the Secretary General of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, OACPS, Georges Rebelo Pinto; the European Union, EU, Head of Delegation to Cameroon, Ambassador Jean Marc Chataigner. 

The event was also graced by the presence of members of government, some mines ministers of OACPS and a host of other stakeholders. 

In his keynote address, the Prime Minister lauded the efforts of the CIMEC Organising Committee, notably the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, MINMIDT, and the OACPS.

He sounded positive that the international event provides an opportunity to showcase prospects for developing the country’s geological and mining potentials. 

Such, he said, extends to the Central African Subregion, within a mutually beneficial framework. 

Gov’t’s measures to develop sector

With the aim of transitioning from a country of high potential to a mining producer, the PM said Cameroon has implemented a series of measures amongst which is the adoption of the Mining Code of December 19, 2023. 

“This piece of legislation introduced several innovations amongst which are the concept of sharing production between 2 and 15% depending on the case; the obligation to process at least 15% of iron ores locally; safeguarding the rights of local communities; equitable sharing of revenues generated by the exploitation of mining resources and environmental sustainability,” he declared. 

The holding of CIMEC coincided with the meeting of the Council of Mining Ministers of the OACPS. To this, the Head of Government argued that “Yaounde, was rightly chosen to host these major conferences allowing Cameroon, renowned for its hospitality to share its experience with sister countries”.

Exploring new avenues to boost public resources 

PM Dion Ngute explained that government is implementing an approach of exploring avenues of increasing public resources in line with instructions from President Biya.

He said Cameroon launched four industrial mining projects in 2023 and is continuing to launch others this year.

“In this regard, we believe that solid mining, particularly gold, represent and exceptional source of financial resources,” Dion Ngute said, adding that “our country has, indeed, significant untapped mineral reserves that we need to exploit”. 

He also commended the excellent relations that exist between its partners, particularly the EU and member countries of OACPS.  

Cameroon an example for OACPS member states

Taking the rostrum, the Secretary General of OACPS, Georges Rebelo Pinto, averred that the mining and energy sector offers great opportunities for employment, economic transformation, and sustainable development.

While hailing Cameroon’s approach in the mining sector, Pinto called on other member states to take a leaf from the Cameroonian example.   

“Cameroon, with its abundant natural resources and the strategic initiatives put in place, pose as an exemplary model for OACPS member states. The development recorded by the mining and energy sector illustrate the impact of visionary policies, solid regulatory framework and strategic partnership put in place in this regard,” Pinto stressed. 

As countries transition towards cleaner and more sustainable energy, the OACPS SG emphasised that it is imperative for all to take the path of innovation. 

This, he said, is to adopt to sustainable practices and to ensure that actions taken bring spinoff to the economies, communities and environment. 

He further called for greater collaboration between all stakeholders present, notably governments, private sector, civil society and state partners, to consolidate their engagement towards sustainable development.   

EU pledges support to green economy

On his part, the European Union, EU, Ambassador to Cameroon, Jean-Marc Chataigner, highlighted the economic bloc’s commitment in combating climate change and ecological transitioning.  

He also declared the EU’s readiness to accompany countries making efforts in exploiting and transforming critical minerals key for ecological transition.

He added that the EU Commission values the respect of social right of workers in the extractive sector and the need for transparency in the sector 

Decarbonisation plan

According to the Interim Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, Prof Fuh Calistus, as part of the drive to achieve carbon neutrality, the needs identified since 2010 have already increased by 50% in 10 years. He added that the needs will increase six fold between 2020 and 2040. 

Prof Fuh Calistus stated that these increases are mainly due to the needs of electric vehicles, which use six times more minerals than conventional vehicles, and storage batteries, followed by electricity grids, photovoltaic solar energy and wind power. 

“With a view to improving the well-being of humanity, Cameroon, in conjunction with the European Union, plans to implement and develop a mining policy focusing on the exploitation of minerals critical to the energy transition, given the anomalies found in its subsoil, such as rare earths, cobalt, nickel and lithium,” the Interim Minister explained.

While acknowledging Cameroon’s richness in raw materials critical to the energy transition, Prof Fuh Calistus, maintained that the crucial issues lie in the effective processing of these minerals locally, with all the challenges that this entails.  

Cameroon to join world's mining-producing countries

Prof Fuh Calistus equally expressed Cameroon's desire to join the short list of the world's mining-producing countries and doing so with other countries in the sub-region. 

“It is part of the implementation of a common strategy to strengthen sub-regional integration, a concept that CEMAC has made its leitmotiv since its creation in 1994,” he noted.

He also added that: “The objective, clearly stated and decided at the highest level of the member states, is to translate into a real and concrete pooling of efforts to manage the resources of the Central African sub-region for the benefit of one and all”. 

Cameroon’s shining examples

He then cited the Mbalam-Nabeba integrated iron ore mining project as a perfect illustration of the synergy that exists between Congo and Cameroon, at political, governmental and operational levels.

“The pooling of energies between the Congo and Cameroon for the exploitation of the solid mine, or between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon for the exploitation of hydrocarbons, will require an optimisation of the costs of setting up mining, industrial, transport and energy infrastructures, a homogenisation of the products from the different deposits on the one hand, and of human capital on the other, with the corollary of improving the mobility of the labour factor within the sub-region,” he emphasised. 

In addition to the above impacts, he said the integrated projects will also help to strengthen the financial sovereignty of the states concerned.  Furthermore, the minister said it will also increase the mining sector's contribution to the sub-region's economic growth rate.