(Business in Cameroon) - According to the services of the Cameroonian Ministry of Industry, Mining and Technological Development in the East region, the heartland of Cameroonian mining, only 486 million FCfa in revenue has been collected from mining since the start of the year, which is less than half off the 1.2 billion FCfa expected this year from this region.
In addition, nationally, only 12% of the estimated 11 billion FCfa in mining revenue has been made by the central services of that ministry.
Now halfway through the fiscal year, the government daily publication reveals that officials from that ministry have just completed an assessment of the situation to determine the source of this underperformance which could seriously compromise mining revenue this year.
The analysis reveals that some companies mining gold in the East region are completely unknown to the ministry and are therefore operating clandestinely. This brings to mind the site visit paid to Lom et Djerem in March 2014 which led to the discovery of five secret companies operating without the slightest care in the mine fields. The companies in question are Gipo Mining, Ging Ma SA, D’or de lion, Danshang Ming and Fuhaï Ming.
Apart from the under-the-table mining, ministry officials also identified companies engaged in mining, though they only possessed exploration permits, the refusal of some mining companies to be monitored, false declarations on the quantity of mined product extracted – a practice achieved with the aide of government workers – and more.