(Business in Cameroon) – Cameroon’s Customs Directorate launched consultations to design a new tax and monitoring framework for iron ore and bauxite exports.
- The upcoming 2026 Finance Law will introduce specific fiscal rates for iron, bauxite, and crude oil exports.
- The strategy aims to secure export revenues and promote local mineral processing to reduce dependence on oil income.
Cameroon’s General Directorate of Customs (DGD) has launched a strategic consultation with mining sector stakeholders to strengthen taxation and monitoring of iron ore and bauxite exports.
The meeting, held on Tuesday under the supervision of Customs Director General Fongod Edwin Nuvaga, brought together representatives from the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development (Minmidt), the National Mining Company (Sonamines), and several operational units of the DGD, including DGD3, DGD7, and DGD9.
Officials discussed a new fiscal and logistical framework designed to optimize state revenues from extractive industries. The approach focuses on resource pooling, predictability, and traceability of mining export flows, according to Customs authorities.
The Customs Directorate confirmed that specific tax rates are being defined for iron ore, bauxite, and crude oil exports. These measures are expected to be included in the 2026 Finance Law.
For the customs administration, this reform represents a major tool for budget consolidation.
“This approach calls for resource pooling to capture maximum revenue from iron ore and bauxite exports. Beyond broadening the tax base, the goal of this consultation is to encourage local processing of extractive raw materials,” the DGD stated.
This orientation underscores the government’s intent to secure export earnings while stimulating domestic industrial transformation, in a bid to reduce dependence on oil revenues and enhance economic resilience.
Cameroon is leveraging its diverse and abundant mineral reserves. The country hosts major iron ore deposits at Mbalam-Nabeba, Kribi-Lobé—estimated at 630 million tons—and Bipindi-Grand Zambi, with a national potential exceeding 3 billion tons.
In the bauxite sector, the Minim-Martap deposit holds an estimated 144 million tons of exploitable reserves over 20 years. The government plans to facilitate extraction through the construction of a dedicated railway line.
This fiscal and logistical strategy seeks to monetize Cameroon’s mining potential amid tight global financial conditions and volatile oil prices.
The initiative builds on earlier efforts to map Cameroon’s mineral wealth. A 2014 government study supported by the World Bank identified over 300 new deposits across five regions, much of which remain largely unexploited.
By refining its fiscal framework, Yaoundé aims to maximize returns on its natural resources while positioning the mining sector as a pillar of economic diversification.
This article was initially published in French by Amina Malloum
Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum
