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The Ministry of Mines in Cameroon has discovered nearly 200 illegal artisanal gold mining companies operating in the country’s eastern and Adamawa regions, most of them reportedly foreign-owned.
The ministry disclosed the development on Wednesday following an investigation launched in January into discrepancies between Cameroon’s officially declared gold exports and significantly higher import figures reported by partner countries, particularly the United Arab Emirates(UAE)
According to the ministry, about 200 unauthorised mining firms were identified, with more than 95 per cent linked to foreign operators, many of them Chinese nationals, based on an official list released by authorities.
“About 200 illegal companies have been identified in the east and Adamawa regions, more than 95 percent of them foreign firms,” the ministry said in a statement.
The government said the companies have been directed to immediately stop all mining activities, although no details were provided on sanctions or possible legal proceedings against them.
The investigation was triggered by concerns over inconsistencies in official trade data, which suggested large-scale gaps in the country’s gold export records.
A 2023 report by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), published in December, showed the scale of the discrepancy in the sector.
Cameroon reported producing 953 kilograms of gold that year, while official export figures stood at just 22.3 kilograms.
However, import data from partner countries showed shipments amounting to 15.2 tonnes, a gap that raised concerns about illicit trade and smuggling.
A researcher, Aicha Pemboura, said in a March report on organised crime in Central Africa that the figures suggest a significant portion of artisanal gold production is being diverted away from official channels.
She noted that gold is often routed through informal networks or smuggled out of the country before reaching legitimate export systems.
Despite reforms introduced under Cameroon’s new mining code in 2023, analysts say enforcement challenges remain due to corruption risks and the influence of powerful actors within the sector.
