Cameroon has uncovered more than 200 illegal artisanal gold mining companies, the majority of them foreign-owned, following a major investigation into the country’s mining sector.
The Ministry of Mines disclosed the findings, saying the probe was launched after significant discrepancies were discovered between Cameroon’s official gold export records and import figures declared by foreign countries, particularly the United Arab Emirates.
According to the ministry, about 200 illegal mining operators were identified in the East and Adamawa regions, with over 95 per cent of the firms linked to foreign interests.
A list released by the authorities showed that many of the companies are reportedly operated by Chinese nationals.
The government directed the affected firms to immediately suspend mining activities, although officials did not indicate whether sanctions or prosecutions would follow.
Recall that concerns over illegal gold trade intensified after a 2023 report by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, published last December, exposed glaring inconsistencies in official figures.
While Cameroon declared a total gold production of 953 kilograms in 2023 and officially exported only 22.3 kilograms, importing countries reported receiving about 15.2 tonnes of gold from Cameroon during the same period.
The gap has raised fears of widespread smuggling and illicit trading networks within the country’s artisanal mining sector.
Researcher Aicha Pemboura, in a March report on organised crime in Central Africa, said the figures suggest that a substantial portion of Cameroon’s gold production bypasses official channels and enters informal or illegal markets.
“This suggests a large share of gold, especially artisanal mining, bypasses official channels and is diverted into informal networks or smuggled,” Pemboura noted.
Despite Cameroon adopting a new mining code in 2023 aimed at strengthening oversight in the sector, analysts say corruption and the influence of powerful elites continue to weaken enforcement efforts.
