CAPAM will hence get 15 per cent of all gold produced in the country to reinforce the country’s reserves at BEAC.

A programme to channel most of Cameroon’s gold production into the formal circuit of the economy launched in August 2011 which has been stagnating thus far for want of finances to buy the precious metal from artisan and mechanized miners may soon emerge.

“Operation Gold” as it is known, piloted by the Small-scale Mining Support and Promotion Framework Unit (CAPAM) under the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, will hence get 15 per cent of all gold produced in over 150 mining sites in the East Region and other areas of the country.

This follows a production-sharing decree recently signed by the Prime Minister, Head of Government.

According to the Coordinator of CAPAM, Jean Marcel Essomba, the decree is revolutionary in CAPAM activities and for “Operation Gold” in particular which principally targets augmenting the country’s reserves at the Bank of Central African States (BEAC).

Gold for this operation comes from small-scale and non-professional miners as well as from companies that use light equipment to produce gold (mechanized mining).

The operation, he said, started off well as in August 2012 some 50 kg of powered gold (about 36,8 kg smelted gold) was canalized and sent to BEAC via the Ministry of Finance. In the first quarter of 2013, CAPAM’s Coordinator said the unit sent about 31.7 kg of gold to the Ministry of Finance.

To give a boost to the operation, government through the Ministry of Finance, disbursed FCFA one billion to fetch more gold for the State.

This was because the operation was already stagnating for want of money to buy the gold from the producers. “We greatly salute the decree of the Prime Minister which gives CAPAM the right to take 15 per cent of gold production on the sites, 40 per cent of which will be used to reinforce the State’s reserves at BEAC.

The decree of the PM is a veritable booster to the operation,” Mr Essomba said. The decree brings an end to the complaints of frequent shortage of canalization funds which often slowed down the action of CAPAM personnel giving advantage instead to nagging gold vendors on the field.

CAPAM, the Coordinator noted, already has people on the field and all will be done to reinforce their presence in the over 150 mining sites in the East Region especially during the washing of the product so that 15 per cent of it could be taken for the State.

“We are carrying out an exhaustive survey of all mining sites so as to have representatives at each site for efficiency in the operation. We already have our technicians in mining sites in Bétare-Oya and we will be going to other sites so as to be permanently present at each washing session of gold to get what belongs to the State,” Jean Marcel Essomba.