Based on the French civil law system, Cameroon’s laws have a common law influence and accept compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction.

The Mining Code originally enacted in 1964 regulated mineral substances, and a 1978 law enacted to define the framework for mining, such as taxes, royalties and mining taxes.

Today exploration licences in the Cameroon (Permis de Recherche) are granted by the Ministry of Mines, Technology, Industry and Technology Development (MMITD) as governed by the World Bank sponsored Mines Code (Law No. 1 of 16th April 2001) and Decree No. 2002/648 of 26th March 2002.

Exploration licences stipulate that:

• the holder may explore the surface and subsurface for metals, minerals and gem stones as specified within the individual licence agreement.

• the licences cannot exceed 1,000km² and are valid for three years with an option to renew four times for further periods of two years each, subject to a reduction in surface area of 50% upon each renewal.

• the holder must submit a progress report every six months to the MMITD and has the automatic right to convert any part of the exploration licence to an exploitation licence.

• the holder is required to work within an exploration budget as submitted at the time of application.

The Company’s mineral exploration permits of the maximum size (1,000km²) in Cameroon are subject to an aggregate expenditure of 300,000,000 francs (US$631,140) over the initial three year tenure for each of the three properties.

Expenditure is on target to achieve this commitment on all permits held by the Company.

None of the exploration licences held by the Company in Cameroon are subject to encumbrances.

Under Cameroon Mining Law, the Government retains a 10% free carried interest in any producing mine and receives a 3% royalty on any gold production.