Sundance wins $616m ICC award against Cameroon over Mbalam iron ore

Sundance Resources, the Perth-based company that spent more than a decade trying to develop the Mbalam-Nabeba iron ore deposit on the Cameroon–Republic of Congo border, has won an arbitration award of roughly $616m against Cameroon.

The company announced on 26 July that a tribunal under the International Chamber of Commerce had ruled in its favour and in favour of its Cameroonian subsidiary, Cam Iron SA. According to Reuters, as reported by Miningmx, the arbitrators found that Cameroon had failed to honour its legal commitments over Cam Iron's interest in the Mbalam portion of the deposit. They also found that Cameroon breached the arbitration agreement by ignoring a 2022 ICC emergency ruling that barred it from awarding the Mbalam permit to anyone else.

How the dispute arose

Cameroon signed the Mbalam mining convention with Sundance on 30 November 2012, and the arbitration was brought under a transition agreement signed in 2015, Ecofin Agency reported. Sundance's central complaint was that the government never issued the presidential decree needed to formalise Cam Iron's mining permit. Cameroon later stripped Sundance of its rights and handed the Mbalam permit to a rival developer.

The award follows a setback in January, when a separate tribunal rejected Sundance's $8.8bn claim against the Republic of Congo over the Nabeba side of the deposit.

Collecting is another matter

Chairman David Porter said the company, its lawyers Clifford Chance and litigation funder Burford Capital welcomed the decision. Sundance noted that Cameroon must now pay, and that it may have to pursue enforcement if payment is not made voluntarily.

Burford, which has financed the proceedings since 2021 on a non-recourse basis, said its contractual entitlement would exceed A$250m if the award were paid in full. It cautioned investors that "the issuance of the award does not constitute a cash receipt for Burford", pointing to the risks of appeals, enforcement difficulties and a possible negotiated settlement for less.

Why it matters

Mbalam-Nabeba is among the largest undeveloped iron ore resources in Africa. Cameroon's mining ministry had not commented at the time of the report, but officials had said in July that Mbalam was one of several new developments expected to lift annual mining revenue to CFA1 trillion, or about $1.75bn. A large unpaid award hanging over the deposit could complicate those plans.

The case also illustrates a wider theme in African iron ore: large deposits often remain stranded for years because of the rail and port infrastructure they require, and disputes over permits can outlast the companies that first explored them. With Simandou now shipping from Guinea and new projects advancing in Gabon and the Republic of Congo, the competition for investment and customers in West and Central African iron ore is intensifying.

Sources

• Miningmx: Sundance wins $616m arbitration award against Cameroon, 27 Jul 2026
• Ecofin Agency: Cameroon Ordered to Pay Sundance $616 Million in Mbalam Dispute, 28 Jul 2026

Photo: The deep-water port at Kribi on Cameroon's Atlantic coast. BACHELOR45, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.