The Togolese Council of Ministers on 5 April 2023 adopted Décret n°2023-039/PR creating the Société Togolaise de Manganèse (STM), a 100% state-owned enterprise mandated to develop the manganese value chain and hold the government's equity stake in the Nayéga manganese project (Kpendjal West, Savanes region; 8.5 Mt at 14% ore grade). The same session approved a 3-year strategic cooperation agreement with UK-listed Keras Resources (then 85% owner of the Société Générale des Mines concessionaire), under which Keras provides technical assistance for 1.5% of gross revenues plus 6% brokerage, while the government stake was renegotiated to ~24%, reducing Keras's effective share to ~76.5%. The Nayéga mine entered commissioning in late June 2025 with first commercial shipments in September 2025, producing 4,000–8,000 tonnes/month of manganese ore under STM operational control.

Analyst notesShow

Mechanism

Décret n°2023-039/PR inserts a wholly state-owned vehicle (STM) into the primary production chain of Togo's only operating manganese deposit, the Nayéga project in the northern Savanes region. The structure is a classic SOE-insertion model: STM holds the government's ~24% equity stake and acts as the national valorisation entity, while the private partner (Keras Resources via its 76.5% SGM subsidiary) provides capital, technical expertise, and offtake marketing under a fee-for-service cooperation agreement.

The cooperation agreement terms — 1.5% of gross revenues for technical assistance plus 6% for brokerage — reflect a hybrid concession model where the private partner is compensated as a service provider rather than a pure equity holder, giving the state operational control and first claim on value. This is structurally analogous to the DRC's SOE-insertion model (Gécamines/ISCMN) and Ghana's PHL framework for precious metals, though the Togolese version is lighter-touch and did not require full nationalisation.

Keras Resources (AIM: KRS) had originally secured manganese exploitation rights through SGM in October 2019 with an 85% controlling stake. The 2023 renegotiation reduced Keras's effective share to 76.5% and introduced STM as the government's operating entity, replacing the previous arrangement where the Ministry of Mines held a passive equity stake. Keras's share price fell ~15% in the week following the government's announcement of the renegotiation, reflecting investor concern about sovereign risk and margin dilution.

Downstream implications

Nayéga manganese flows under partial state control: STM operational management

of the mine from commissioning (June 2025 onward) means pricing, export routing, and offtake agreements are subject to government approval — a variable not present in the pre-2023 private-concession model.

Template for Togo's broader mining sector: STM is the first state mining

company created under Togo's Roadmap 2020–2025 (Strategic Axis 2: mining sector development). If the model is applied to Togo's phosphates or gold sectors, the pattern will replicate across other commodities.

Battery/steel supply chain relevance: Manganese is a critical input for steel

production and NMC/LMO battery cathodes (EV supply chains). Nayéga's 8.5 Mt reserve is modest at global scale but adds to the broader trend of West African state capture of manganese upstream (comparable to Ghana's Mensah-Nsiah mine and DRC's Katanga manganese deposits).

Keras Resources exposure: KRS carries a concentrated single-asset sovereign

risk — the Nayéga mine represents substantially all of Keras's operational exposure. The fee-for-service structure (vs. equity) reduces upside but also limits downside if the government seeks to further increase its stake.