Mbalam is a place in
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
near the southern border with the
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
where there are significant deposits of iron ore. The mining company is
Sundance Resources Limited.
Namesakes
There are two other places in Cameroon with the same name.
Railway
A 510 km railway connection to a
deepwater port is required to exploit these ore deposits efficiently. Several routes were planned using
Quantm software. The railway will start at an elevation of about 650m at the mine, proceed along a fairly level alignment for 350 km, drops steeply for 100 km down to the coastal plain, then traverses that plain for 50 km to the port. The gradients generally favour loaded trains.
In September 2010, Sundance Resources signed a memorandum of understanding with
CRCC China-Africa Construction Ltd, which outlined construction plans for a 490 km railway linking the planned iron ore mines to a proposed port near
Lolabé
Lolabé is a small coastal town in Cameroon. It lies on the Atlantic Ocean, about halfway between Kribi and the border with Equatorial Guinea.
Port
The town has been chosen as the site for a port serving an iron ore railway (or slurry pipeli ...
. Another Chinese company,
China Harbour Engineering Co Ltd (CHEC), will build the port.
A two-stage development of a mine, railway and port for the cross-border iron ore deposits in
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
and
Congo is estimated to cost US$7.7 billion.
Traffic
The new railway is expected to carry 35 million tonnes of ore per year for 25 years.
See also
*
Railway stations in Cameroon
The list of railway stations in Cameroon includes:
Stations served by passenger trains
Towns served by rail
Existing
( gauge plantation railway)
* Limbe - port, terminal, cement works
----
( gauge)
----
* Nkongsamba (W) – railhead ...
References
East Region (Cameroon)
{{Cameroon-geo-stub