In return for this commitment formalized under a framework agreement, the investor aims to secure a majority stake of 50.1% in the company's capital. The bulk of this financial package, equivalent to 4.9 billion FCFA, will be specifically allocated to financing technical feasibility studies, rigorous metallurgical tests, and the design of surface industrial installations, with the balance intended to clear historical development liabilities.

The effective completion of this transaction remains, however, contingent upon a set of significant suspensive conditions. 


The central sticking point lies in ARM obtaining a new mining exploitation permit, cleared of any prior disputes or encumbrances. It should be recalled that the initial perimeter, previously operated since 2003 by Geovic Cameroon before the revocation of its title by presidential decree, was retrocessed to the Société nationale des mines (Sonamines). In this context, ARM is engaged in sustained discussions with the Ministry of Mines services and the public company to formalize the allocation of a new clean title, while relying on historical geological data acquired from the former operator.


The realization of this industrial ambition will require Aeternum to drastically strengthen its financial foundations. The junior's accounting data indeed reveal a very limited cash position at the end of the first half, making the raising of additional capital indispensable to meet the demands of a titanic project. For comparison, historical estimates had assessed the project's initial needs at over 330 billion FCFA, a financial compass that Sonamines demands be precisely updated in light of contemporary standards. 


This requirement for technical and financial solidity further echoes Sonamines' strategy, which maintains its openness to large-scale capital partnerships to best valorize the immense cobalt, nickel, and manganese deposits on the country's eastern flank.


Asaba

Tags: cobalt nkamouna aeternum investissement fcfa permis minier sonamines géologie financement mines