- Mining in Cameroon
=Cameroon Overview=
Cameroon has a total area of approximately 475 thousand square kilometers, a coastline of some 400 kilometers, and a population approaching 18 million people. [CIA World Factbook.]Mining History
As of April 2008, Cameroon has no industrial
mining history. Cameroon’s undeveloped mineral resources includebauxite ,cobalt ,gold from lode deposits,granite ,iron ore ,nepheline syenite ,nickel , andrutile . Strong metal and industrial mineral prices since 2003 have encouraged companies to develop mines. TheNkamouna enriched cobalt-nickel-manganese-iron laterite deposits and several other nickeliferous laterite deposits in southeast Cameroon were first discovered and investigated by theUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP) during 1981-1986, in a cooperative project with the CameroonMinistry of Mines, Water and Energy to evaluate mineral potential in southeastern Cameroon. Due to the remote location and the low nickel prices at the time, the discovery did not draw much attention. No further exploration took place on the property until geologist William Buckovic becomes aware of the nickel discovery in 1988. [UNDP Project CMR/81/005).]The southeast region and nearby regions in
Gabon ,Republic of the Congo , andCentral African Republic have few producing mineral deposits and few with near-term production potential. Most of this region is underlain by Proterozoic granite-gneiss-schist terrains. Within the region,ultramafic rock s, the original source of the cobalt and nickel, are confined to the project area. There has been no previous production of minerals from the project area.Fact|date=April 2008Alluvial gold is artisanally exploited from stream gravels in parts of Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, and Central African Republic. However, theU.S. Geological Survey ’s 2002 estimate for total gold production from all four countries combined is less than 1,600 kilograms, or less than 50,000 ounces per year. The portion of this yield from within a 300-km radius of theGeovic Project is likely on the order of 20,000 ounces per year, a relatively insignificant amount by international comparisons. In the southwest part of the Central African Republic, alluvial gold is accompanied by small quantities of alluvial diamonds in streams which drain Cretaceous sandstone and conglomerates exposed further east. The Cretaceous formations do not extend into Cameroon. [U.S. Geological Survey, 2002.]Geology of Cameroon
Cameroon Mining Laws & Regulations
Institutions
Economics
Commodities
Bauxite (Aluminum-bearing ore)
As of April 2008,
bauxite is not mined in Cameroon; it is only refined. The raw material is shipped from around the world to a smelter inEdéa where a supply of hydro-electric power is available for processing. The refined metal is exported globally.Cobalt
Diamonds
Gold
Iron Ore
Nickel
Uranium
Current projects
Cobalt, Nickel & Manganese Project
References and footnotes
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