The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Cameroon continue to lose substantial mining revenues as gold smuggling, informal trade networks and weak regulatory controls undermine efforts to improve governance in the extractive sector, according to a report by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).
The report highlights significant weaknesses in gold governance systems in both countries, revealing major discrepancies between officially reported production and export figures and the volumes of gold recorded by international trading partners.
In Cameroon, official data from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) shows that the country exported just 22 kilograms of gold in 2023. However, import records from trading partners indicate that around 15 tonnes of Cameroonian gold entered international markets during the same period.
The ISS attributes this gap to inadequate monitoring systems, limited transparency in the allocation of mining licences and well-established smuggling networks that allow gold to bypass official export channels.
Aïcha Pemboura, a researcher at the ISS Observatory of Organized Crime and Violence in Central Africa, said these governance shortcomings make it difficult for authorities to accurately monitor production and collect the revenues generated by the country’s gold resources.
In the DRC, governance challenges are further complicated by ongoing insecurity in the country’s eastern gold-producing regions, where the presence of armed groups continues to weaken government oversight and fuel illegal mining activities.
According to the report, illicit gold mining provides a source of financing for some armed groups involved in regional conflicts, while challenges surrounding the formalisation of artisanal mining, effective site monitoring and secure mineral supply chains continue to hamper the sector.
The report also highlights the environmental and social consequences of poorly regulated artisanal mining. The widespread use of mercury and cyanide has contributed to soil and water pollution, while uncontrolled mining activities have damaged agricultural land and reduced the economic benefits reaching local communities.
Dubai remains one of the main destinations for gold exported from both the DRC and Cameroon. However, weak traceability systems make it difficult to verify the true origin of exported gold, limiting governments’ ability to collect taxes and royalties from the trade.
To strengthen governance across the sector, the ISS recommends improving oversight of mining sites, implementing more robust traceability systems, accelerating the formalisation of artisanal mining and increasing regional cooperation to combat illicit gold trade.
The report concludes that stronger control over gold production and supply chains will be essential for the DRC and Cameroon to protect public revenues, curb illegal mining activities and ensure that the benefits of their mineral wealth are shared more broadly among governments, local communities and legitimate mining operators.
