East Cameroon's artisanal and small-scale mining bonanza: How long will it last?

• ASM in Cameroon is not seen as a poverty driven or a “rush-type” activity as widely discussed in ASM literature.
• Institutional capacity in the sector is weak and needs to draw on experiences in other sub-Saharan countries such as Ghana.
• Impending large-scale mining operations in the region could decimate the long established ASM economy unless the “dual gold mining economy” model is adopted.

This paper presents findings from a detailed study carried out in 24 artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) communities in six locations in the East Region of Cameroon, with particular emphasis on the economic aspects of activities. Decades of government neglect and poor infrastructural development has tilted the balance of the region's rural economy away from smallholder cash crop cultivation to ASM. While this study does not suggest that the region is experiencing complete de-agrarianisation, high gold prices, the absence of policies and regulations, ubiquitous land availability and the absence of large-scale mine production has fuelled the growth of ASM activities in the area. These are thought to be self-sustaining and not considered to be poverty-driven. Significant finds and high incomes from the region's activities have fuelled a “gold bonanza” but the big question is: how long will this last? Key issues such as the ability of deposits to support an increasing rate of extraction, environmental degradation and potential future conflicts with large-scale mining operations will need to be carefully managed to ensure that the ASM economy is sustained.