Landslide at a Mining Site in the Central African Republic, on the Border with Cameroon

The sub-regional mining community learned with sadness of the accident that occurred on 18 August 2026 at a gold-mining site located in the village of Zamboye, in the Central African Republic, a locality bordering the Republic of Cameroon.

Indeed, the village of Zamboï/Zamboye extends on both sides of the border between Cameroon and the Central African Republic, with the two territories separated by a natural boundary formed by the Kadey River. There is therefore a Zamboï on the Cameroonian side and a Zamboye on the Central African side.

On the Cameroonian side, gold mining is essentially alluvial, carried out in the river flats and along the Kadey River, and mainly falls within the category of artisanal mining in the strict sense. On the Central African side, however, mining activities include deposits located in steep hilly areas, which present greater risks of landslides and ground collapse.

The accident of 18 August 2026, caused by a landslide, occurred on the Central African side, at a mining site in the village of Zamboï known as “Moscow” by artisanal miners. The victims are reported to include both Cameroonian artisanal miners working on that side of the border and Central African artisanal miners.

An assessment mission has already been deployed on the Cameroonian side to gather further information and assess the overall situation in the border area. It should be noted that during the rainy season, the risks of landslides and ground collapses are particularly high at mining sites located on steep slopes, especially where safety measures are not sufficiently observed by artisanal miners. Although this accident occurred in a neighbouring country, it is also of concern to Cameroon, where artisanal mining is practised, and serves as a reminder of the precarious nature of this activity in several African countries.

It is against this backdrop that the Government, through the Ministry in charge of Mines, has already taken measures aimed at restructuring the artisanal mining sector. A dedicated Task Force has been established, involving several ministerial departments.

With regard to semi-mechanised artisanal mining, several measures have also been initiated to improve oversight of operators, mining sites, production, and compliance with fiscal and environmental obligations. These measures include:

• strict compliance with the regulations in force;
• payment of the environmental security deposit;
• the introduction of a minimum production threshold of 5 kg per month;
• the identification of leaching ponds, particularly with a view to improving production monitoring and the collection of the Final Composite Mining Tax, both for the current period and as part of reassessment operations covering previous periods;
• the withdrawal or cancellation of exploration permits used as a cover for illegal semi-mechanised mining activities.

As regards artisanal mining in the strict sense, or artisanal gold mining, for which management responsibilities have been transferred by the State to local councils, the Task Force has undertaken several actions aimed at supporting councils in supervising artisanal miners. These include organising them into mining Common Initiative Groups (CIGs), identifying high-risk mining sites, raising awareness, and training artisanal miners on the risks associated with gold mining.

Overall, the Zamboï accident further underscores the need to pursue the actions undertaken by the Minister in charge of Mines to promote the formalisation of artisanal miners, enhance the safety of mining sites, ensure compliance with mining standards, and strengthen the role of decentralised local authorities in supervising artisanal gold mining.