The National Mining Company (Sonamines) is stepping up oversight of gold operators across Cameroon. Following a compliance tour in the Adamaoua and East regions—the country’s primary hubs for artisanal and semi-mechanised gold production—director general Serge Hervé Boyogueno delivered a blunt assessment. Numerous operators fail to meet expected output levels, while others are clearly insolvent. Environmental shortcomings and opaque trading channels further undermine the state’s authority over the sector.
Field inspections expose deep flaws in gold sector
The visited areas host the bulk of Cameroon’s gold activity, dominated by semi-mechanised firms and a multitude of artisanal miners. Sonamines’ mission was designed to verify whether permit holders comply with their contractual and regulatory duties. The director general’s findings highlight a persistent gap between the commitments made when titles were granted and the actual production observed on the ground.
Output thresholds set in the specifications are not being met by a significant number of operators. This underperformance is compounded, for some, by proven insolvency toward the state and its agencies. On this point, Boyogueno explicitly refers the decision to the Ministry of Mines, which alone can suspend or revoke permits. The state-owned company thus positions itself as the technical body that documents violations, leaving political authorities to decide on penalties.
Insolvency, environmental damage and opaque trade: a triple challenge
Beyond purely financial issues, the mission documented worrying environmental shortcomings. Rehabilitating mined sites, managing mercury- and cyanide-laced wastewater, and securing extraction zones are all ongoing challenges. These failures expose surrounding communities to serious health risks and threaten the sustainability of an activity that increasingly fuels the local economies of the East and Adamaoua regions.
The second front is commercialization. A substantial share of extracted gold bypasses official channels and feeds regional smuggling networks, depriving the public treasury of revenue and preventing metal traceability. This opacity, long criticized by specialised organisations, contradicts Yaoundé’s stated goal of mineral sovereignty. Sonamines now intends to tighten the net by strengthening declaration obligations and expanding approved collection points.
Toward a national strategic gold reserve
The most ambitious goal put forward by management remains building a national strategic stockpile. Modeled on practices seen at several African central banks, this aims to give Cameroon a metal reserve that could back part of its monetary policy and serve as a buffer in case of external shocks. The logic aligns with that of other producing countries in the subregion seeking to capture more value from their own resources.
Success, however, requires Sonamines to channel a significant share of national output through its counters. This presupposes cleaning up the operator landscape, offering purchase prices competitive with informal buyers, and coordinating closely with security forces and customs along border corridors. The ministry’s upcoming decisions on non-compliant operators will be critical in this regard.
The execution phase of Cameroon’s mining reform promises to be delicate. It pits the imperative of contractual discipline against the preservation of a sector that provides informal jobs, and the ambition to embed gold in a logic of financial sovereignty. No precise timeline for ministerial decisions has been given, but the conclusions from Sonamines’ mission are expected to shape the next directives. The director general intends to continue inspections in other production basins.
