Chinese loan solicited for Mbalam-Nabeba iron project railway

The Cameroonian government has solicited some fund from China to invest in the construction of a railway and port infrastructure for the Mbalam-Nabeba project, a large-scale iron ore deposit, between Cameroon and Congo.

According to the Australian mining junior, Sundance Resources, Cameroon would be hired to seek full funding for part of the railway and port infrastructure.

Yaoundé has 98% interest in rail and port infrastructure against the 2% granted to Cam Iron S.A., subsidiary of Sundance. This scheme will remain in force until the date of the first commercial production of the ore project.

The development of the project involves the construction of a railway 510 km from the mine Mbarga in Cameroon and 70 km of secondary route linking the Nabeba mine in Congo to transport iron ore to the Cameroonian coast.

The project also includes the construction of a new terminal in the deep sea for the export of Lolabe iron ore, which will accommodate a maximum capacity of 300 000 DWT bulk carriers.