Turning Mineral Wealth Into Industrial Growth Remains Cameroon’s Biggest Mining Challenge

The second edition of the Baraza Mining Forum, held on June 11, 2026, in Yaoundé, brought back into focus a question that has become strategic for Cameroon: how to move from a mining sector still largely driven by extraction and raw exports to a real local processing industry.

Beyond the familiar discussion of Cameroon’s mineral potential, the forum highlighted a shared view among participants: resources alone are no longer enough. The real challenge now lies in the country’s ability to turn those resources into added value, industrial jobs, public revenue and structured value chains.

According to the organizers, Cameroon has a pipeline of mining projects under development worth more than $5.5 billion. Yet mining still contributes less than 0.2% of the national budget, underscoring the gap between the country’s geological potential and its real impact on the economy.

Abundant Resources, Limited Value Capture

Discussions first focused on the foundations of the mining industry: legal frameworks, taxation, governance, regulation, transparency and compliance with international standards. In a sector shaped by long cycles, heavy investment and high risk, institutional credibility has become a decisive condition for attracting capital.

Speakers stressed the need for a stable and predictable legal environment. Without clear rules, mining projects struggle to move through the critical stages from exploration to production, then from production to processing. Governance and transparency are no longer only matters of public ethics; they have become factors of competitiveness.

The issue is especially important because Cameroon wants to extract more value from resources such as iron ore, bauxite, gold, cobalt, nickel and rare earths. But several barriers still stand between the existence of a deposit and the development of an industrial value chain: weak infrastructure, high logistics costs, limited access to power, shortages of specialized skills and low local financing capacity.

Financing Mines, Building Bankable Projects

Financing was one of the main themes of the forum. Despite recognized geological potential, several mining projects still struggle to become bankable. Investors do not assess only ore quality. They also examine the strength of feasibility studies, company governance, legal security, infrastructure availability and the ability to move production to market.

In that context, project structuring becomes critical. A mining project that is poorly documented, poorly governed or insufficiently connected to its logistics environment will struggle to raise capital, even with a promising deposit. The debates therefore stressed the need to improve the quality of studies, professionalize local operators and develop financing tools suited to the mining sector.

This requirement also applies to supporting infrastructure. Railways, roads, power, ports, industrial water and storage capacity directly affect project profitability. Without those assets, even the richest resources can remain difficult to exploit economically.

Local Processing, a Strategic Goal With Complex Demands

Local mineral processing was one of the central issues at Baraza Mining 2026. The objective is now clear: reduce dependence on raw exports and support the creation of industrial value inside the country.

But that ambition faces a complex operational reality. In several segments, the first step remains the export of raw or lightly processed minerals before more integrated processing units can be developed over time. This transition requires heavy investment, available and competitive power, skilled labor and close coordination among the state, mining operators, manufacturers, financiers and technical partners.

The industrialization of mining therefore cannot be reduced to a regulatory requirement for local processing. It must rest on a realistic strategy, sector by sector, taking into account available volumes, production costs, commercial outlets and existing infrastructure.

Baraza Mining also highlighted the need to include artisanal and semi-mechanized mining in this broader discussion. That segment remains important in some value chains, especially gold, but it is still difficult to regulate. Formalization, traceability and oversight are essential to improve governance and limit losses in public revenue.

At the end of the discussions, one paradox remained: Cameroon has significant mining potential, but that potential has yet to translate into real industrial power. The second Baraza Mining Forum confirmed that the challenge is no longer only to discover or extract resources. It is to build around them an industry capable of creating lasting value, financing infrastructure, developing skills and strengthening the country’s economic sovereignty.

Amina Malloum