(Business in Cameroon) - Although Cameroon has world class mining deposits such as the Mbalam and Nkout’s iron, Lomié’s nickel and cobalt or Mobilong’s diamonds, this immense potential remains unexploited due to the absence of a real mining industry. In addition, mining activity in the country is largely dominated by small-scale agents (which contributes only 1% to the nation’s GDP), providing little income relative to its potential.

According to the Cameroon Mining Federation, a recently formed association of local operators, the transition from small-scale to industrial mining could be achieved if the government created an “Industrial Mining development Fund”. The federation submitted its proposal to the Minister of Mining, Emmanuel Bondé, at a meeting with the government official on November 11, 2014 in Yaoundé.

In addition, the federation’s members expressed their desire to see the mining code revamped (the government has already been working on a bill which could be tabled in parliament in November 2014 or March 2015, according to reliable sources), in order “to facilitate the granting of mining permits”, authorisations which “enable negotiation with international partners,” stated Emmanuel Mbiam, the federation’s president.

Since May 14, 2014, the Cameroonian government has had to suspend the issuance of small-scale mining permits due to the general disorder that prevails in that sector. In particular, a senior Ministry of Mining official explains that “several operators with prospecting permits immediately moved on to the mining phase and this has been done with little regard for environmental standards” that are applicable in Cameroon.