(Business in Cameroon) - Artisanal mining companies operating in Cameroon (37) recently signed funding agreements with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The beneficiaries operate in four specific areas, namely clay processing, stone cutting, sand extraction, and gravel production, official sources reveal.

Instead of direct funding, these mining companies chosen after a selection procedure will receive equipment worth over XAF55 million to improve their production. "The development of the mineral sector has been hit hard by Covid-19. Operators need to resume their mining and production activities. The first benefit (expected from this support) is therefore the revival of their activities. And when we talk about restarting activities, we are talking about improving production," says Moussa Charlot, the national coordinator of the ACP-EU Development Minerals Program. 

In Cameroon, statistics on clay processing, stone cutting, sand extraction, and gravel production are rare. However, experts agree that there are increasingly dynamic activities in the country, due to the boom in the construction sector. Therefore, the UNDP's support to artisanal mining companies in these sectors will help boost activities, enabling them to better respond to rising demand.

BRM