Mbalam-Nabeba Iron Ore Project: Arbitration Court Orders Cameroon to Pay Over $600 Million USD to Sundance Resources

The mining dispute surrounding the Mbalam-Nabeba iron ore deposit, straddling the Cameroon-Congo border, has taken a new turn after more than a decade of legal battles between Yaoundé and Australian junior Sundance Resources, whose operating permits were revoked around 2012. According to a statement published on July 24, 2026 by Burford Capital Limited, an international litigation finance firm, an arbitration tribunal of the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris ordered the Cameroonian State to pay nearly 350 billion FCFA, or over 600 million USD, to Sundance Resources. The information, relayed by Financial Afrik on July 27, comes exclusively from Burford, which financed the proceedings and therefore directly receives the fruits of this victory. For Cameroon, already under IMF surveillance regarding its public debt, such a ruling would weigh heavily on state finances and send a negative signal to mining investors in the sub-region. This case illustrates the growing role of litigation finance funds in State-investor disputes in Central Africa: since Burford has a direct financial interest in the media coverage of this judgment, official confirmation from Yaoundé or the ICC remains necessary before final validation of the amounts.