Cameroon will be about the first country in Africa to have a complete value chain from bauxite to alumina to aluminium. This is after the mining lease for the exploitation of bauxite at Mini Martap signed by President Paul Biya was handed over to CAMALCO last Friday by the Interim Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development (MINMIDT) and a very strict chronogram of activities to be followed adopted with the three companies engaged in the project.
Interim MINMIDT boss, Prof Fuh Calistus Gentry, used the opportunity to announce the laying of the foundation stone for the mining part of the project in 2025, while two years after there will be the beginning of the transformation from bauxite to alumina.
“In between these phases, aspects related to energy, to transport to the port will be filled”, he added.
For him it was a historic day given that three major companies which are already engaged in this project: CAMALCO, Canyon Resources, the parent company, and Fortuna Eagle Eye which is the strategic partner carrying the project were present.
An excited Prof. Fuh Calistus also announced that “ we are in very serious negotiations with company that has the launching of the mining phase next year.” He expressed the hope to see hundreds of jobs given to the Cameroonian youths as from next year.
For his part, Rana Pratap Singh, DG of CAMALCO, subsidiary of Canyon Resources, thanked President Biya, the entire team of the Ministry of Mines and all the stakeholders “through whose support and cooperation we have achieved this milestone of having mining permit”.
He said mining permit gives them “the legal authority and a legal possession of the property to start mining “. Rana Pratap announced that their first priority will be employment of local Cameroonians.
“ We will be investing in their training and skill development. We will be investing also in mining equipments and will train the local people in operating those equipment, in managing the mine’, he promised.
Meanwhile, Anshum Khandelwa, Country Head, FORTUNA Holdings SFO, said they would “prioritise employment of Cameroonians, the transfer of knowledge for the future generations.”
He said of the 130 employees in the drilling of wells, more than 90 percent are Cameroonians.
