Cameroon’s revised Mining Code (Law No. 2023/014) and World Bank-funded PRECASEM geochemical mapping using the Flexicadastre system are opening underexplored iron ore, bauxite, gold, rutile, nickel and cobalt targets, particularly along the Cameroon Volcanic Line and associated shear zones. The code allows three-year exploration permits renewable up to nine years, JORC-based prefeasibility studies for commercial permits, 20-year operating terms, transferability of mining rights and 100% foreign ownership via locally incorporated entities. Investor concerns centre on SONAMINES’ mandatory board seat on licensees, presidential sign-off on operating permits and how transparency and conflicts of interest are managed.

Governments are moving from pure lenders to direct “deal participants” in critical minerals, with the US “Project Vault” creating a $12 billion strategic stockpile and helping drive roughly 160 minerals-related deals worth about $40 billion since January 2025. Washington is now combining EXIM, DFC and DOE funding with direct equity, price floors and long-term offtake and stockpiling agreements, while tightening defence sourcing rules to penalise use of restricted suppliers. For project developers, early binding offtake is becoming central to bankability, but Seidl Inglesby warns processing and manufacturing capacity still take years to build.

Green Party leaders are calling for new data centres to lose their automatic “critical infrastructure” status and face stricter planning tests, citing risks to local electricity networks and potable water supplies. The move targets large hyperscale facilities with multi‑MW continuous loads and high cooling water demand, which can compete with housing and industrial users on constrained grids. For civil and infrastructure engineers, this signals potential for tougher connection agreements, more detailed impact assessments on water and power, and possible delays to new server-farm projects.