(Business in Cameroon) - In Cameroon, the Minister of Mines, Gabriel Dodo Ndoke, signed on behalf of the government, the contractual arrangements for the research work of Eramet Cameroun on the Akonolinga rutile block (nearly 500,000 tons) in the Central region.

This three-year project will enable the mining group's teams to carry out the fieldwork and feasibility studies required to obtain an exploitation agreement because, according to the Ministry of Mines, past exploration campaigns conducted in the central region have identified a high potential for rutile, a titaniferous mineral from mineralized sands used mainly in the production of pigments.

Eramet Group, one of the world leaders in alloy metals (notably manganese and nickel) and metallurgy, obtained the research permits on the Akonolinga rutile block following a call for tenders launched in September 2018. At the end of the procedure, it outran BWA Group, headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal.

Rutile has been known in Cameroon since the beginning of the century but it was only exploited between 1935 and 1955. According to the Cameroonian Ministry of Mines, the total rutile production recorded since then is nearly 15,000 tons, mainly from artisanal mining. However, Cameroon estimates its rutile potential at 2,849,000 tons, which makes the country the second-largest rutile reserve in the world, just behind Sierra Leone.

SA