(Business in Cameroon) – An arbitration hearing between the Cameroon government and Australian junior miner Sundance Resources is scheduled before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris from January 27 to January 31, 2025. Sundance Resources, through its Cameroonian subsidiary Cam Iron, is involved in a dispute over the Mbalam-Nabeba iron ore project, which straddles Cameroon and Congo. The company confirmed on September 16, 2024, that it insists on keeping these initial hearing dates.
Sundance Resources appears concerned that the hearing might be postponed. They believe this could happen because the Cameroonian side, which had until September 9, 2024, to file a defense brief with the ICC, has not yet done so. This delay is reportedly due to “non-payment” of legal and expert fees, according to local Cameroonian media, Sundance claims.
In their claim filed with the ICC in 2022 (the case has been ongoing since 2021), Sundance seeks damages of $5.5 billion (about CFA3.4 trillion at the exchange rate at that time) related to the Mbalam-Nabeba iron ore project. This amount is 36 times higher than the CFA94 billion estimated by the late Gabriel Dodo Ndocké, Cameroon’s former Minister of Mines, for the company’s exploration costs. Ndocké believed that paying this “debt” could end the arbitration. However, President Paul Biya chose to proceed with arbitration instead.
Background of the Dispute
The conflict began when Sundance Resources failed to secure technical and financial partners to develop the Mbalam project, which includes building a 500-km railway between Mbalam and Kribi, a mine, and a deep-water port terminal at Kribi. Their attempts to partner with Chinese companies—China Gezhouba in 2015, Tidfore Heavy Equipment Group Ltd in 2018, and AustSino from 2018—were unsuccessful.
In 2021, Cameroon decided to seek new partners, including AutSino Resources Group Ltd and Bestway Finance. Sundance contests this decision, claiming the Cameroon government and AutSino mistreated them. After failing to reach an agreement with Sundance, AutSino signed a contract directly with the Cameroon government on June 25, 2021, to handle the railway portion of the project. Since August 17, 2022, Cameroon Mining Company Sarl (CMC), linked to Bestway Finance, has held the exploitation permit for the Mbalam-Nabeba iron ore deposit in Cameroon.
In Congo, the project was taken over by Sangha Mining, another Bestway Finance subsidiary. Sundance also took legal action against Congo, accusing it of withdrawing the Mbalam-Nabeba project from its subsidiary Congo Iron. However, on July 1, 2024, Congo reached a settlement with Sundance Resources. Sundance confirmed in their September 16, 2024, statement that the settlement with Congo does not affect the ongoing arbitration against Cameroon.
