RPT-Sundance: Big finds in Cameroon iron ore project

Thu Mar 17, 2011 10:16pm GMT

YAOUNDE, March 17, (Reuters) - Australian mining firm Sundance Resources (SDL.AX: Quote) said on Thursday recent finds at its Mbalam iron ore project in Cameroon had more than doubled the amount of indicated resources in the area.

Indicated resources give the West Africa-focused miner, confidence in the potential of iron ore to be mined in the area.

Sundance said indicated high-grade hematite had more than doubled to 417.7 metric tonnes, following a large drilling programme in the past 12 months, compared with 169 MT previously reported.

News of the find pushed Sundance shares up 9.3 percent on the day.

"This resource estimate further strengthens our confidence of the viability of this project. We are now approaching half a billion tonnes of high quality iron resources and 85 per cent of that is now indicated," Sundance Chief Executive Giulio Casello said in a statement.

"We have a globally significant project capable of producing 35 million tonnes per annum of high-quality iron ore for at least 25 years," he said.

Casello said the first phase of the project consists of a planned railway and deep water port. The company last year delayed the start-up of production to 2013.

The company said in February the estimated $3.4 billion cost of the project was increasing.
(Reporting by Tansa Musa, Writing by Bate Felix, editing by Jane Baird, Reuters)

Sundance to build a railway line and port for Mbalam iron ore export venture

Sunday, 13 Feb 2011

Reuters reported that Australia's Sundance Resources wants Chinese companies to build a railway line and port in Cameroon vital to its Mbalam iron ore export venture.

Mr Giulio Casello MD at Sundance Resources said that the project is also expected to cost more than the USD 3.4 billion initially thought.

He said that agreements had been signed with China Rail and China Harbour to build 490 kilometers of rail line linking two mines in the Mbalam area to a port on the Cameroon coast capable of handling 35 million tonnes of ore a year for a decade.

He added that the initial capital costs were pegged at USD 3.4 billion but the figure was likely to increase due to the addition of the Nabeba mine in Congo Brazzaville.

The Nabeda mine would need 60 kilometers of railway line and a crushing and sorting facility, he said.

Mbalam, Sundance's main project, is among a handful of big iron ore developments in west and central Africa and is seen as a cornerstone of Cameroon's effort to diversify its largely oil dependent economy into mining.
(sourced:reuters)

Sundance shares rise as Posco vies to be iron ore partner

By Sarah-Jane Tasker, The Australian

February 01, 2011 12:00AM
Resources' shares rose yesterday after it confirmed that South Korean steel giant Posco was in the race to become its strategic iron ore partner.
According to the junior miner, Posco is one of several companies it is talking to in its bid to advance its massive Mbalam project in Cameroon.
Shares in the company increased 8.79 per cent yesterday to 50c as the overall market fell slightly.
"As previously advised to the market, Sundance has held numerous discussions with a wide variety of international steel mills and potential strategic partners to pursue the Mbalam iron ore project in Cameroon and Congo," a Sundance statement said.
"Those discussions have involved, among others, Posco.
"However, as yet no formal agreements have been entered into with any of the various parties currently undertaking due diligence on the Mbalam iron ore project."
According to Sundance, it met recently senior Posco personnel who visited Cameroon, Democratic Republic, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia on a trip sponsored by the Korean ambassador for energy and resources.
Sundance chairman George Jones said the company was close to finalising talks and he was still hoping to announce a strategic partner by the end of next month.
The market is expecting the strategic partner to be Asian, after deals the company announced last year.
Sundance has already signed a memorandum of understanding with China Railway Construction Corporation to study a railway for the Mbalam iron ore project.
A similar deal with China Harbour Engineering Company was also signed, with the company looking at the construction of a port in Cameroon.(sourced:theaustralian.com.au)