In a press release issued on June 30, 2026, the Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development (Minmidt), Fuh Calistus Gentry, officially revoked 53 gold exploration permits for “non-compliance with the Mining Code”. “This decision marks a key step in taking back control of a sector long characterized by opaque practices,” said a Minmidt official. It is part of a broader strategy to clean up and restore the state’s authority over mineral resources.
According to the Minister’s document, “many permit holders have exceeded their legal framework.” Especially in terms of exploration and evaluation of a gold deposit. Indeed, Fuh Calistus Gentry justifies his decision by stating that “under Cameroonian mining law, an exploration permit only allows for commercial extraction with authorization.”
On the ground, this boundary has often been crossed. It is observed that gold mining operations have been carried out without exploitation permits, sometimes subcontracted to foreign operators, mostly Asians. This results in “gold production outside the legal framework, with no significant tax revenues for the State.”
The revocation of the 53 gold permits aims to put an end to these abuses. It sends a clear signal to sector actors that administrative tolerance is over. The ministry speaks of “a clean-up operation that is expected to continue.”
The figures provided by the mining administration illustrate the extent of the problem. “In the regions of the East and Adamaoua, 175 gold sites have been identified as non-compliant. Nearly 200 operators were conducting illegal activities, over 95% of which were of foreign origin,” the Ministry of Mines reports.
This situation has deprived the public treasury of substantial revenues. Official projections estimate that structuring the artisanal sector could generate over 1,000 billion CFA francs (approximately 1.75 billion USD) in cumulative revenues in the long term.
Beyond permit revocations, the government’s strategy aims to transform the gold mining model. The goal is to gradually reduce dependence on informal artisanal activities in favor of better-regulated and more productive industrial projects.
The ministerial decision pursues a dual objective. On the one hand, formalizing mining craftsmanship by imposing minimum production thresholds and scientific monitoring of extracted gold. On the other hand, supporting the emergence of industrial operators capable of carrying out structuring projects.
However, several gray areas remain. So far, no legal action has been announced against those who flout mining orthodoxy in Cameroon. “Without effective criminal proceedings, the revocation of permits could be perceived as a limited administrative sanction,” notes Alain Bossinke, a Cameroonian mining operator who escaped the ministerial guillotine.
The challenge now lies in implementation. The credibility of this reform will depend on the state’s ability to sustainably apply the sanctions provided for in the Mining Code. It is only through this that the political signal can translate into structural change in the Cameroonian gold sector.
