200 unlawful gold mine companies ordered to cease work in Cameroon over ‘smuggling’ fears
Cameroon has ordered a huge crackdown on gold mining companies working in the East and Adamawa regions after a probe linked to major export-import discrepancies
Gold miners dig at a mining site in the Cameroon town of Betare Oya(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Cameroon has ordered nearly 200 illegal gold mining companies to stop work immediately as officials revealed 95% of the firms were foreign-owned.
The nation’s mines ministry has launched a probe into the country’s gold trade. The companies were found to be operating in the East and Adamawa regions, according to a statement issued on Wednesday (May 20).
The inquiry was triggered by stark inconsistencies between what Cameroon says it exports and what overseas buyers report importing, with the United Arab Emirates singled out as a key destination in the data.
Officials said over 95% of the suspected illegal operators are foreign companies, and a ministry list indicates many are linked to Chinese nationals. The authorities have instructed the firms to stop mining immediately, but have not set out what penalties or legal steps may follow, Africa News reported.
The scale of the mismatch was highlighted in a report published last December by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. It found Cameroon recorded 953kg of gold production in 2023 and reported exporting only 22.3kg, yet importing countries said they received 15.2 tonnes, almost 680 times the official export figure.
Researcher Aicha Pemboura said the disparity points to large volumes of gold, particularly from artisanal mining, being diverted away from official controls into informal networks or smuggling routes. She added that, despite the adoption of a new mining code in 2023, corruption and the influence of powerful elites continue to hamper enforcement, according to Africa News.
Campaigners and analysts say illegal mining in Cameroon is also tied to serious human rights and environmental harms, including land grabbing, child labour and contamination of rivers and groundwater. Mercury and cyanide used in processing can poison local water sources, with communities in mining areas reporting damage to farmland, fishing and public health.
London sits at the centre of global precious-metals finance, and ministers have increasingly framed illicit gold as a driver of organised crime and a potential revenue stream for sanctioned regimes.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has stepped up its focus on the illicit gold trade in recent years, alongside wider efforts to disrupt money laundering and corruption linked to commodities.
The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), which sets standards for the world’s largest bullion marketplace, has also previously suspended refineries over concerns about high-risk supply chains.
The UK’s concern is that gold mined illegally in Central and West Africa can be laundered into legitimate markets via transit hubs such as Dubai, making origin difficult to verify.
Officials and investigators have also pointed to the role of “enablers”; brokers, logistics networks and financial intermediaries, who can help move and monetise suspect gold across borders.
The UK has said it is prepared to use sanctions and enforcement tools against such networks, while agencies including the National Crime Agency have worked with international partners, including Interpol, on operations targeting illegal mining and associated trafficking routes.
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