Cameroon is stepping up efforts to address growing concerns over gold mining activities in the East Region, where authorities say illegal operations, environmental damage, and safety incidents have become increasingly common.
During a visit to Bertoua, Territorial Administration Minister Paul Atanga Nji announced that President Paul Biya had ordered investigations into a series of alleged irregularities affecting the sector.
The move comes as concerns mount over unauthorized mining sites, fatal accidents, and environmental degradation in one of the country's most important gold-producing areas. Over the years, the region has attracted both domestic and foreign operators, including some working outside the legal framework.
At a meeting bringing together administrative authorities, security officials, mining regulators, and industry representatives, participants described a sector facing serious governance challenges. Atanga Nji pointed to alleged irregular permits, influence-peddling, and repeated violations of mining regulations.
According to reports submitted by regional authorities, several deaths have occurred in and around mining sites in recent years. The minister referred to the incidents as "deaths too many" and urged all stakeholders to cooperate with investigators as they seek to determine responsibility.
“It is better to operate within the law,” he said. The issue extends beyond security concerns. At stake is the government's ability to monitor gold production and collect revenue from a sector that should contribute significantly to public finances. Artisanal and semi-mechanized gold mining are regulated under Cameroon’s Mining Code, which requires operators to obtain permits, meet tax obligations, and rehabilitate sites after extraction.
According to authorities, however, many mining sites continue to operate without fully complying with those requirements.
Officials cite a range of violations, including uncontrolled land occupation, the misuse of permits, deforestation, water pollution, and the abandonment of open pits after mining activities end. These practices have turned some mining communities into high-risk areas. Unrehabilitated pits increase the danger of landslides, drownings, and other accidents, particularly during the rainy season. They also threaten farmland and water resources that local communities rely on.
To assess conditions firsthand, Atanga Nji conducted an unannounced visit on June 2 to the Gounté gold mining site in Mandjou, located in the Lom-et-Djérem Division.
Accompanied by local officials, security personnel, and technical experts, he reviewed mining methods, working conditions, and the environmental and safety risks associated with post-extraction site management. The latest investigations form part of a wider government effort to tackle illegal mining activities in the East and Adamawa regions.
The Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development has already published a list of companies operating illegally and outlined compliance requirements for operators seeking to resume activities.
For the government, the objective goes beyond enforcement alone. Authorities are seeking to improve traceability across the gold supply chain, enhance site safety, protect local communities, and reduce tax losses linked to informal mining networks.
In a sector with significant revenue potential, illegal operations undermine local economic development, public finances, and environmental protection.
The investigations are expected to identify not only individual violations but also weaknesses in the broader oversight system, including permit issuance, site monitoring, tax compliance, worker safety, and mine rehabilitation requirements.
Their credibility, however, will depend on whether authorities publish concrete findings and impose sanctions on operators found to be in violation, regardless of their influence.
Officials say the goal is to promote a safer, more transparent, and more environmentally responsible gold industry.
For many residents of the East Region, however, the question remains simpler: can the area's gold resources finally be developed without putting lives, farmland, and water sources at risk?
Patricia Ngo Ngouem