Mbalam mine
The Mbalam iron ore deposit is a cross-border mining area in southeast Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo. It lies mainly in Cameroon’s East Region near the border, and it also extends into Congo, connecting with the Nabeba and Ibanga deposits.
Estimates vary: the deposit is thought to hold either about 2.5 billion tonnes of ore at roughly 40% iron, or about 800 million tonnes at around 62% iron.
History and prospects: The deposit was first identified by the UN Development Programme in the 1970s–1980s. In the 2000s and 2010s, plans aimed to produce 35–40 million tonnes of ore per year. Attempts to mine began around 2005 when Australian company Sundance Resources created Cam Iron SA to pursue the project, with exploration starting in 2007. By the mid-2010s, little work beyond exploration had taken place. A Definitive Feasibility Study for the first mining phase was completed in 2011. Production was expected to start in 2017, but investor funding problems caused delays, with extensions granted in 2017 and 2018.
Status and disputes: In 2021, Cameroon and Congo revoked the mining rights to the deposit. Sundance and the two governments are in arbitration, with a resolution not expected for several years.
Recent developments: In December 2022, Cameroon’s president announced the start of major mining projects, and a February 2023 meeting confirmed progress on a joint Mbalam-Nabeba project. In 2024, Chinese firm Sangha Mining began a project on the deposit, with iron production planned to begin in December 2025.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:02 (CET).