(Business in Cameroon) - In Bétaré Oya and Kambele, two major gold mining towns in the forest and mining region of East Cameroon, the researchers of the Geological and Mining Research Institute IRGM detected radioactive substances on some mining sites. In addition, some sites are polluted by heavy metals such as lead and arsenic, exposing residents to health hazards.

These are some of the findings of the study on mining and high-mining potential zones' monitoring in Cameroon, published on August 3, 2018, in Yaoundé by IRGM, a special institution attached to the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation.

Apart from gold which is popular in that region, there are many mining resources such as uranium and bauxite which, to date, are illegally exploited by local miners.

BRM