DY6 Expands Central Rutile Project – Secures Yaoundé West Historical Mining Site
- Noel Ong
- Sep 19
- 6 min read
Announcement
DY6 Metals (ASX: DY6) has taken another significant step toward establishing itself as the dominant rutile player in Central Africa. By securing the historically significant Yaoundé West Project, the Company has added a proven production site to its growing Central Rutile Project (Figure 1). This acquisition is more than just additional ground – it represents a strategic consolidation of tenure, a boost to exploration potential, and a rare opportunity to revitalise a district that once made Cameroon the world’s third largest rutile producer.
Figure 1: DY6’s Central Project showing the current licences in light blue and the Yaoundé West licences in green. (source: DY6)
Key Highlights - Rutile
Binding Acquisition Secured: DY6 Metals will acquire 100% of seven contiguous exploration licence applications comprising the Yaoundé West Project in central Cameroon.
Proven Production History: Yaoundé West was a major rutile-producing area from 1935–1955, contributing to Cameroon’s status as the world’s 3rd largest rutile producer during that time.
Unique in Cameroon: The project area is the only historically recorded site of residual rutile mining in the country.
High-Grade Potential: BRGM mapping identified a 70km x 15km zone of residual rutile mineralisation, adjacent to DY6 licences where rutile up to 97.5% TiO₂ has already been reported.
District-Scale Landholding: The acquisition expands DY6’s 100%-owned tenure to 8,782km², cementing its dominance in a globally emerging rutile province.
Strategic Location: Proximity to Yaoundé city, rail, road, and deep-water port infrastructure positions DY6 with significant development advantages.
Exploration Momentum: Systematic soil sampling is underway, with maiden auger drilling planned across the new licences.
A Transformational Acquisition
DY6’s acquisition integrates the Yaoundé West Project into its existing Central Rutile Project, boosting its project area from 5,901km² to 8,782km². Consideration includes A$1.5M cash, 10M fully paid shares, and 10M performance rights, subject to shareholder approval.
CEO, Cliff Fitzhenry, commented:
“We are absolutely delighted to have completed the acquisition of the Yaoundé West Project which we firmly believe represents a world class and highly strategic asset.
Yaoundé West is particularly significant in that it is the only historically recorded area of residual rutile mining in the country, highlighting its geological significance and proven mineral potential. Its premium land position, combined with unmatched proximity to key infrastructure - including port, rail, and power - provides a major logistical and development advantage.
The acquisition process was highly competitive, with several parties pursuing this exceptional asset. Our success in securing it is a strong endorsement of our strategic approach and capability to identify and execute on tier-one critical mineral opportunities.
We believe that following this acquisition, DY6 will have a dominant landholding in Central Cameroon, with the expanded Central Rutile Project now comprising 100% ownership of 8,782km2 of premium, highly prospective tenure underpinning this district scale opportunity in an emerging, globally significant rutile province.”
Geology and Historical Production.
The project is underlain by kyanite-bearing mica schist and garnet paragneiss, the primary source of rutile (Figure 2). In-situ weathering has liberated rutile into an eluvial saprolite layer, forming a deposit style comparable to Sovereign Metals’ Tier 1 Kasiya Project in Malawi – the world’s largest primary rutile deposit.
Figure 2: Regional geological map of Central Cameroon showing DY6’s Central Rutile Project and Yaoundé West licences (source: DY6)
Historical production between 1935–1955 recorded 15,000 tons of >95% rutile, with Yaoundé West a major contributor (Figure 3).
Figure 3: BRGM georeferenced map of high-grade rutile zone (source: DY6)
BRGM mapping defined a continuous high-grade zone (70km strike, 15km width), where all historical mining took place (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Geological map showing the current Central project licences in black, the Yaoundé West licences in red, and the high grade BRGM mapped rutile zone in grey shade. (source: DY6)
As shown in Figure 5, the map highlights a portion of DY6’s Central Project, with the Yaoundé West licences marked in red and the BRGM-defined high-grade rutile zone shaded in grey.
Figure 5: Map showing a portion of the current Central project licences in black, the Yaoundé West licences in red, and the high grade BRGM mapped rutile zone in grey shade. (source: DY6)
Strategic Location and Infrastructure Advantage
Yaoundé West is within 20km of Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé, with sealed multi-carriageway highway access and rail running through one of the licences. Its proximity to the deep-water port of Douala (200km) enhances logistics for future development (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Central Project & Yaoundé West Licences with Rail Access (source: DY6)
Next Steps
DY6 will expand its systematic soil-sampling program across the new licences, paving the way for maiden auger drilling campaigns. The company continues to position itself as the dominant rutile explorer in Cameroon, with 11,362km² of combined tenure across its Central Rutile and Douala Basin HMS Projects.
Samso Concluding Comments
This release is all about DY6 building a landholding to participate in what could be a globally significant rutile province. The acquisition of a project with a proven production history will provide some geological validation and set DY6 for advanced-stage exploration.
The presence of historical production is a good indicator, and I am sure that will help in some clarity on the potential prospectivity of the region. It is good to know that the DY6 project is in close proximity to road, rail, and port, which will be a decisive advantage when it comes time to develop a project at scale.
What is clear is that ASX companies with projects in Cameroon will work through their projects over the next 12 months, giving investors a good choice of positions to take when the dust settles.
As always, the next phase will be all about the data – systematic sampling and auger drilling will provide the hard numbers needed to quantify this opportunity.
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