CAMEROON Law and Practice Contributed by: Lynda Amadagana, Elise Ngo Nyobe, Cecile Bella and Kevin Djomgoue, Amadagana & Partners
General African Union mining policies are main - ly reflected under the Africa Mining Regime Vision, which is a common public policy docu - ment adopted at the African Union Heads of State Summit in February 2009 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that aims to ensure the fair and opti - mal exploitation of mineral resources for broad- based sustainable growth and socio-economic development. The Dodd–Frank Act is a 2010 US law applicable to extractive companies listed on the US stock exchange. 1.3 Ownership of Mineral Resources In line with the provisions of the Cameroonian Civil Code, ownership of the soil entails, in prin - ciple, ownership of the top and bottom. However, mineral substances are an exception to this general principle as any mineral substance contained in the soil and subsoil of the territory of the Republic of Cameroon are the property of the State, which exercises sovereign rights therein in line with the provisions of the Mining Code. The State is the only authority entitled to grant mining permits. 1.4 Role of the State in Mining Law and Regulations The State has several roles in mining in Cam - eroon: • grantor-regulator through the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Develop - ment; and • owner-operator through the public company SONAMINES. The Mining Code provides for a mandatory mini - mum 10% shareholding which is free of charge, in all operating mining companies, and the State
can increase its stake to 25% shareholding (which is not free of charge). 1.5 Nature of Mineral Rights The Cameroonian Constitution provides that the regulation of mining matters is regulated under the law. However, mining rights are derived from the Mining Code, the Mining Convention and the specifications of the exploration permit. 1.6 Granting of Mineral Rights The granting authorities in Cameroon are as fol - lows. • The Minister of Mines who is in charge of the issuance of the following mining titles: recon - naissance, research, small-mine exploitation permits, mineral and thermo-mineral water exploitation permits and geothermal depos - its. He also signs the Mining Convention on behalf of the State. • The President of the Republic who is in charge of the issuance of an exploitation per - mit for an industrial mine, and an exploitation permit for an industrial quarry. • The regional delegates of the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Develop - ment who are in charge of the issuance of artisanal mining permits and semi-mecha - nised artisanal mining permits. However, there are cases of overlapping jurisdic - tion, notably in the following cases. • Authorisation for semi-mechanised artisanal exploitation of precious and semi-precious substances can only be granted in a research permit by the Minister of Mines, after prior approval by the President of the Republic. • A research permit is granted by the Minister of Mines only after the prior approval of the President of the Republic.
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