SONAMINES
SOCIÉTÉ NATIONALE DES MINES
NATIONAL MINING CORPORATION
Head office: PO Box 6388 Yaoundé
infos@sonamines.cm- www.sonamines.cm
Omnisports, Avenue Marc Vivien FOE
+237 242 058 396
RÉPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROUN
REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON
# TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (AIMI) RELATING TO THE PRE-SELECTION OF TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL PARTNERS FOR THE NATIONAL MINING CORPORATION (SONAMINES S.A.) FOR THE COMPLETION OF EXPLORATION WORKS AND THE COMMISSIONING OF THE AKONOLINGA RUTILE BLOCK IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF THE REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON
1 BACKGROUND
Cameroon has a significant geological potential that can boost economic growth through the development of the mining sector. The country is, among others, endowed with huge deposits of iron ore, gold, bauxite, rutile, limestone and cobalt, to name but a few. But with all this geological wealth, the mining sector has never really played a major role in the country's development.
At the technical level, the mining sector has, with the support of donors, been the subject of several projects that have whetted the interest of investors, resulting in the granting of more than a hundred exploration permits for various commodities. To date, 8 (eight) licences in total have been granted for the exploitation of marble, iron ore, gold and bauxite.
At the legislative and regulatory level, reforms in the mining sector have intensified since 2023 with the adoption of a new Mining Code and the enactment of its implementing texts, which, among other innovations, provide for the systematic transfer of deposits previously identified and abandoned or withdrawn from their discoverers to the National Mining Corporation (SONAMINES S.A). This provision applies to the Akonolinga rutile block, over which ERAMET Cameroon has carried out extensive research and developed a pre-feasibility study.
The Mining Code and its implementing texts can be downloaded in English and French from the website of SONAMINES S.A, www.sonamines.cm
2 PURPOSE OF THE AIMI
These terms of reference aim to launch an International Call for Expressions of Interest (AIMI) for the pre-selection of technical and financial partners for SONAMINES S.A., with a view to finalising exploration works and commissioning the Akonolinga rutile block in the Central Region of the Republic of Cameroon.
SONAMINES S.A. - Public Limited Company with a Board of Directors - Established by Decree No. 2020/749 of 14 December 2020
Share capital: CFAF 10,000,000,000 - R.C.CM No.: RC/YAO/2021/B/895
# OVERVIEW OF THE GEOLOGY AND MINERAL POTENTIAL OF CAMEROON
Cameroon can be divided into three major geo-tectonic units: the Ntem Complex, the vast Pan-African orogenic belt in Central Africa, which contains numerous granitoid intrusions, and the limited Phanerozoic cover units.