Gold Flows From Colomine, but Sonamines Is Still Waiting on Bidzar Marble Revenue

Cameroon’s National Mining Corporation (Sonamines) collected 1,205.58 grams of gold in 2025 as the state’s share of production from the Colomine gold mine in the East Region, according to the company’s 2025 financial statements.

The volume represents the government’s 5% production share from the mine operated by Comincor S.A. It brings the total amount of gold recovered by Sonamines between February 1, 2023, and December 31, 2025, to 2,726.28 grams. According to the company, the stock, with an average purity of 20.22 carats, was valued at CFA178.49 million at the end of the 2025 financial year.

In the notes to its financial statements, Sonamines says monitoring production at operating mines allows it to safeguard the state’s interests in the mining sector. For both Comincor S.A. and Quarrycam S.A., the state’s production share is collected each month as an advance on future dividends. The mechanism gives practical effect to the government’s equity stake in certain mining projects. At Colomine, the 1,205.58 grams of gold collected in 2025 confirms that Sonamines is already receiving part of the mine’s production on behalf of the state.

Based on the 5% production share disclosed in the accounts, that volume suggests a reference output of roughly 24.1 kilograms of gold for the year. However, the financial statements do not disclose Comincor’s total production for the period.

Bidzar Marble Payments Still Outstanding

The production-sharing mechanism has yet to function as smoothly across all mining projects monitored by Sonamines. As of December 31, 2025, the company had still not received the state’s share of marble production from the Bidzar Block B mining permit, operated by Cimencam S.A. and Quarrycam S.A. According to the financial statements, the state’s 5% share is calculated using a reference value of CFA9,000 per ton of marble, subject to a 15% discount. Sonamines says the payment was still outstanding at the close of the 2025 financial year.

The company does not disclose the volumes of marble involved, making it impossible to estimate the amount still owed to the state.

Based on the pricing formula provided by Sonamines, the discounted reference value amounts to CFA7,650 per ton. The state’s 5% share would therefore equal CFA382.5 per ton of marble produced or valued. Without production figures, however, the total amount due cannot be calculated.

A Test for State Mining Revenue

The figures highlight both the progress and the shortcomings of Cameroon’s production-sharing system for mining projects. At Colomine, Sonamines has begun collecting the state’s share of gold production in kind. At Bidzar, by contrast, the government’s share of marble production remained unpaid at the end of 2025.

The issue extends beyond the quantities collected. For the government, the challenge is to ensure that its ownership interests in mining projects translate into actual revenue, valuable mineral stocks, or dividend payments rather than remaining largely theoretical.

For Sonamines, which is responsible for protecting the state’s interests in the mining sector, the regular collection of these production shares will also be a measure of its ability to monitor mining operations, enforce the government’s rights, and secure public revenue from mineral production.

Amina Malloum