(Business in Cameroon) - Between 2014 and 2019, 300 new mining sites were discovered during exploration operations in Cameroon. This was revealed by the minister of mines Dodo Ndocké, during a press conference prior to the Cameroon International Mining Exposition (Cime) that will take place on 2-4 September 2019 in Yaoundé.

These sites were discovered in the East, the West, the North, the Centre and in Adamaoua. The minerals discovered on these sites are extensive. They range from gold, zinc, rare earth, uranium, nickel and rutile to manganese.

The exploration operations were organized in the framework of the project Projet de renforcement des capacités dans le secteur minier (Precasem), funded by the World Bank Group to boost the country’s mining sector. Thanks to that project, in January 2014, the government initiated the airborne geophysical surveying of 160 thousand Km² in six regions. In addition, on January 24, 2017, Cameroon officially launched a geological mapping and geochemical sampling programme in those regions. The programme was entrusted to three cabinets, BRGM, BEIG3 and GTK namely.

The goal of these projects is to evaluate the country’s actual mining potential. Let’s note that before the Precasem, only 40% of the country’s territory had been checked for mining resources.

Brice R. Mbodiam