Acting Secretary of State, Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development , Fuh Calistus Gentry has reminded the regional and departmental heads of his ministry  “proceed without delay to the closure of all sites of operators who have not complied with the aforementioned prescriptions”.

The instruction is contained in a letter dated August 18, 2023. It comes after two letters from Minmidt signed last May and July, giving a 45-day deadline to active semi-mechanized artisanal miners to “submit a complete application file for authorization to operate semi-mechanized artisanal miners”.

Also affected by these closure measures are operators who have submitted their applications, but who have not yet undertaken “progressive rehabilitation work on mined plots and the implementation of social projects for the benefit of the local populations affected“, as the Minmidt emphasizes.

In 2019 the former Minmidt, now deceased, issued an order banning all semi-mechanized artisanal mining activities on Cameroon’s riverbeds, using mechanical means.

The main targets of this decision were gold miners in the East region, where artisanal mining claims dozens of lives every year.