Title: Artisanal sand exploitation from the Mamfe Sedimentary Basin, Cameroon and resultant impacts

Authors: Etah Enow Moses

Addresses: University of Buea, P.O. Box 63, Buea, South West Region, Cameroon

Abstract: Mamfe Basin in Cameroon contains a large amount of mineral resources that are still unexploited. The basin's topography has enabled the deposition of sand from the Cretaceous Era till present. The exploiters currently use rudimentary techniques to extract the highly demanded non-ferrous mineral which now serves as a livelihood asset to some of the inhabitants. This study seeks to identify the areas of sand exploitation in the region, assess the methods of extraction, determine variation in output with time, examine the socio-economic impact of the activity and, analyse the different problems affecting the sector. By combining secondary and primary techniques of data acquisition, it was observed that the mean annual production of sand in the region is 4,574.1 m³. Between 2010 and 2016, a total of 5,365,295 FCFA was paid to the State Treasury. Sand quarrying is purely artisanal so there is need for the sector to be modernised for it to become sustainable.

Keywords: artisanal mining; fluvial deposit; Mamfe Basin; non-metallic minerals; sand quarrying.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIDM.2021.115535

International Journal of Business Intelligence and Data Mining, 2021 Vol.18 No.4, pp.472 - 487

Received: 21 Nov 2017
Accepted: 22 Nov 2018
Published online: 07 Jun 2021 *

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