Cameroon pushes mining sector toward local processing as bauxite export project nears launch

At the Baraza Mining Forum 2026 in Yaoundé, government officials, operators and financiers emphasized the need to move Cameroon’s mining sector beyond raw‑material export. They noted that mining contributes less than 0.2% of the national budget despite projects worth over $5.5 billion, and highlighted structural hurdles such as legal certainty, transport infrastructure, energy supply, financing and skills development needed for local value‑addition.

Australian junior Canyon Resources, through its Cameroonian subsidiary Camalco, aims to ship bauxite from the Minim Martap deposit by the end of the third quarter of 2026. The plan relies on a new rail corridor linking the Adamawa mine to the Port of Douala, with locomotives ordered from China’s CRRC Ziyang and railcars from India’s Texmaco. The investment, estimated at CFA 252.6 billion, targets a deposit of about 1.1 billion tonnes, promising to open a new phase for Cameroon’s mining industry if the logistics chain is completed on schedule.