The start of exploitation of the Lobé-Kribi iron deposit in the South region is imminent. The Chinese company Sinosteel, holder of the operating permit for this industrial mine, is working on the final adjustments, and has already finalized the development of the access road between the project site in Campo, and the Autonomous Port of Kribi, over a distance of approximately 20 kilometers. According to officials from the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, it is this road which should allow the company to transport its equipment from the port to the project site for the actual exploitation phase. It also completed the topographical surveys of the project site which covers a total area of 138.5 km², thus completing the necessary prerequisites for starting the work.
This phase of the pre-project was preceded by the crucial stage of compensation for communities impacted by the project, which very often constitutes a significant pitfall in the advancement of large-scale projects in Cameroon. In this regard, the government, under the leadership of the Presidency of the Republic, proceeded to the cancellation of 129 land titles acquired fraudulently by third parties with the advent of this project. This major operation enabled the public treasury to save nearly 7 billion FCFA, we learned from officials of the Ministry of Mines.
It should be noted that the Lobe-Kribi iron deposit has a potential of 632 million tonnes of iron with an average content of 33%. The project is expected to generate 10 million tons of iron each year with an average grade of 33% over a period of 50 years, and the enrichment of the ore should also make it possible to produce 4 million tons of iron each year with a grade by more than 60%. In terms of the economic scope of the project, Sinosteel plans, among other things, the creation of 600 direct jobs and more than 1,000 indirect jobs.
In the same vein, the project to exploit the Bipindi-Grand Zambi iron deposit still in the south of the country has also entered its operationalization phase. The ore was entrusted to the Cameroonian company G-Stones, a subsidiary of the Cameroonian conglomerate Bocom, of which Dieudonné Bougne is the CEO. The mining potential of this ore is estimated at around 160 million tonnes of iron, exploitable for 40 years.
