Mobilong diamond mine

Last updated
Mobilong mine
Location
Location Yokadouma
Region East Region
Country Cameroon
Production
Products diamond

The Mobilong mine is a diamond deposit in the East Region of Cameroon. [1]

Diamond Allotrope of carbon often used as a gemstone and an abrasive

Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. At room temperature and pressure, another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form, but diamond almost never converts to it. Diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any natural material, properties that are utilized in major industrial applications such as cutting and polishing tools. They are also the reason that diamond anvil cells can subject materials to pressures found deep in the Earth.

East Region (Cameroon) Region in Cameroon

The East Region occupies the southeastern portion of the Republic of Cameroon. It is bordered to the east by the Central African Republic, to the south by Congo, to the north by the Adamawa Region, and to the west by the Centre and South Regions. With 109,002 km² of territory, it is the largest region in the nation as well as the most sparsely populated. Historically, the peoples of the East have been settled in Cameroonian territory for longer than any other of the country's many ethnic groups, the first inhabitants being the Baka pygmies.

Cameroon Republic in West Africa

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. Although Cameroon is not an ECOWAS member state, it is geographically and historically in West Africa with the Southern Cameroons which now form her Northwest and Southwest Regions having a strong West African history. The country is sometimes identified as West African and other times as Central African due to its strategic position at the crossroads between West and Central Africa.

In December 2010, the resource was reported to the Korean stock exchange as being 736 million carats. [2] In 2013, the resource was estimated to have reserves of 416 million carats of diamonds and an annual production capacity of 0.8 million carats. It was owned by C&K Mining, a joint venture between Cameroon and the South Korean state. [1] The adjustment led to legal action in Korea relating to manipulating the stock market. In 2014, a majority interest was sold to a Chinese-American investor. [2]

Carat (mass) unit of mass

The carat (ct), is a unit of mass equal to 200 mg and is used for measuring gemstones and pearls. The current definition, sometimes known as the metric carat, was adopted in 1907 at the Fourth General Conference on Weights and Measures, and soon afterwards in many countries around the world. The carat is divisible into one hundred points of two milligrams each. Other subdivisions, and slightly different mass values, have been used in the past in different locations.

The deposit was reported to be under revaluation in 2016 to determine exactly what is in it. [3]

Mobilong appears to be one of many failed mining ventures in Cameroon. It got further than most by having a camp and some mining equipment on site. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Cameroon to launch first industrial diamond mine". Mail & Guardian . 23 January 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  2. 1 2 "Cameroon: C&K Mining sells assets in Mobilong diamond mining to Chinese-American investor". Business in Cameroon. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  3. Brice R. Mbodiam (16 May 2016). "Cameroon: the revaluation of the potential of the Mobilong diamond deposit has started". Mail & Guardian . Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  4. Freudenthal, Emmanuel (14 March 2016). "Virtual mining in Cameroon: How to make a fortune by failing". African Arguments. Royal African Society . Retrieved 16 July 2019.