By: African sustainability matters

Cameroon’s government has announced the planned shutdown of certain artisanal and small-scale gold mining sites starting in January 2026, in a bid to tackle extensive smuggling and revenue loss from unreported gold exports. Mines Minister Fuh Calistus Gentry confirmed the move, which follows findings that significant amounts of Cameroonian gold are reaching foreign markets—especially the United Arab Emirates—via informal channels.

According to Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) data, Cameroon officially exported only 22.3 kilograms of gold in 2023, while international trade records show other countries imported 15.2 tonnes attributed to Cameroon—more than 90% of it through the UAE. This discrepancy underscores the difficulty of monitoring artisanal mining, which dominates production and often occurs in remote areas with minimal oversight.

To regain control, authorities will require mining sites to adopt closed-loop ore processing systems to improve recovery rates and monitoring. The state-owned National Mining Corporation (SONAMINES) will be reinforced as the central buyer for domestically produced gold, aiming to channel output through formal, traceable channels. The government also intends to encourage industrial-scale mining projects, which are easier to regulate and tax.

This policy shift reflects growing pressure across Africa to formalize mineral supply chains and capture revenue from artisanal mining, which supports millions of livelihoods but is prone to smuggling. Similar reforms in Burkina Faso have shown that stronger state purchasing mechanisms can significantly increase recorded gold exports. However, Cameroon must balance enforcement with social support to avoid pushing miners further underground and to ensure communities dependent on artisanal mining are not left without alternatives.