While Cameroon has steadily increased its oil production, the discovery and exploitation of other mineral resources have been slow. Bauxite deposits, in the Minam and Martap regions, were estimated at 1 billion tons. Iron deposits containing an estimated 200 million tons have been discovered south of Kribi.
Other mineral deposits included diamonds, tin, gold, mica, marble, columbo-tantalite, silica sand, cassiterite, lignite, and rutile. Gold, the sole commercially exploited mineral, yielded 1000 kg in 2000 and engaged 15,000 small-scale artisanal miners, mostly in the eastern part of the country. Limestone production was 50,000 tons in 2000, and production of pozzolana, a rock used in cement, was 90,000 tons.