Cameroon SONAMINES International Call for Expressions of Interest — Nkamouna-Lomié Cobalt-Nickel-Manganese Battery-Metals Project

Mechanism

The Nkamouna-Lomié cobalt-nickel-manganese deposit, located in Haut-Nyong department of East Region, has been dormant since the original Mining Permit No. 33 was granted to Geovic Cameroon SA (Geocam) in April 2003. Despite 23 years of holding the permit, Geovic failed to advance the project to production. On 25 February 2025, President Paul Biya signed a Presidential Decree formally withdrawing the permit, citing non-compliance with production timeline obligations under Loi n°2023/014 portant Code Minier (filed as 2023-12-19-cameroon-loi-2023-014-code-minier), and immediately vesting the permit in SONAMINES SA under the state's statutory monopoly.

The 9 January 2026 international call for expressions of interest operationalises SONAMINES's exercise of that statutory right. The tender seeks pre-qualified technical and financial partners capable of bringing the project to production under a state-controlled JV architecture consistent with the 2023 Code Minier framework. Eligibility criteria require prospective partners to demonstrate: (i) ≥15 years of large-scale mining operations, (ii) proven capacity for large-scale industrial project delivery, and (iii) established African operational footprint.

The resource base — ~121 Mt at 0.23% Co, 0.65% Ni, 1.35% Mn — positions Nkamouna-Lomié among the most significant undeveloped battery-metals assets in Sub-Saharan Africa. The CFA 300 billion (~USD 490 million) initial investment estimate and ~800 direct / ~400 indirect jobs projection were attached to the formal tender documentation by SONAMINES.

IPTM significance

First concrete state-led downstream-partnership instrument under the 2023 Code Minier + Strategic Mineral Substances regime. This tender is structurally distinct from the filed antecedent decrees (2024/05061 permit-titles process; 2024/05251 mineral trade-flow modalities). Those decrees established the administrative architecture; this action deploys it against a specific asset for the first time.

Battery-supply-chain materiality. Co, Ni, and Mn are all on the EU, US, UK, India, and Japan critical-minerals lists. At full-capacity operation, Nkamouna-Lomié output would represent a meaningful non-DRC cobalt source and a structurally distinct alternative to the Indonesian nickel laterite corridor. The SONAMINES JV-partner framework means any production will be state-equity anchored, likely creating FEOC-clean supply-chain complications for any partner that takes the joint-venture seat.

Post-permit-withdrawal precedent signal. The Geovic revocation sends an unambiguous message to all stalled foreign concessionaires in Cameroon (Sundance/Bestway/AustSino Mbalam-Nabeba iron ore; other inactive holders) that the 2023 Code Minier's production-timeline obligations carry enforcement consequence. This is the first post-revocation instrument to activate SONAMINES redeployment of a recovered permit.

Bid interest dynamics. Eramet (France), Vale, BHP, and Anglo American are all in a capex pause on new African Co/Ni/Mn greenfields. The eligibility criteria (≥15 years mining ops + African footprint) structurally favour CMOC, Zijin, and China Molybdenum-adjacent entities, as well as potentially ENRC, Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), or Indian state-owned miners (NALCO, NMDC). South African entities (Implats, Sibanye-Stillwater) are also within profile. A Chinese-capital winner would extend the DRC ARECOMS / Indonesia HPAL / Zambia copper-smelter pattern of Chinese-financed state-endorsed resource capture in Africa.

Downstream implications

• Co/Ni/Mn supply diversification timeline pushed out. Nkamouna-Lomié will require

substantial capital mobilisation, feasibility work, and permitting under the new regime before first production — realistic timeline is post-2030. Not an immediate supply signal.

• SONAMINES monopoly architecture operationalised. This is the first time SONAMINES has

deployed its statutory permit-reassignment and JV-tendering powers against a real asset; credibility of the 2023 Code Minier enforcement regime is established.

• Arbitration risk. Geovic has signalled intent to pursue international arbitration over the

permit withdrawal. Any ICSID or UNCITRAL award against Cameroon would cloud SONAMINES's title and complicate financing for a JV partner — a material execution risk.

• Cobalt price sensitivity. At 0.23% Co, Nkamouna-Lomié's economics are heavily sensitive

to cobalt price recovery. The current cobalt market oversupply (driven by DRC artisanal + industrial ramp) makes near-term project financing challenging for non-strategic-capital partners.

Open questions

• Will Geovic's arbitration filing succeed in obtaining a stay of SONAMINES's permit exercise?
• Which entity (Chinese SOE, Indian PSU, or Western major) will submit an expression of interest

by the 31 March 2026 deadline — and on what equity-split terms?

• Will MINMIDT publish the evaluation criteria for the expressions of interest, or will the

selection be non-transparent?

• Does the CFA 300 billion investment estimate include or exclude the railway/road infrastructure

required to evacuate concentrate from Haut-Nyong to the coast?