Sundance Resources postpones exploitation of Mbalam iron mine

The Australian operator Sundance Resources Limited has decided to postpone indefinitely the start of the exploitation of the iron mine Mbalam- Nabeba riding between Cameroonian and Congolese borders, APA learns from the company.

According to a statement published Wednesday on the issue, the company justifies its decision by the announcement of the postponement "unexpected" of signing the engineering contract between the government of Cameroon and a construction company owned by the Chinese state, for the construction of a railway line between the place of operation and the deepwater port of Kribi (southern Cameroon).

"The company is currently evaluating the impact that this report will have on the project, and it will inform the shareholders in the short term once the evaluation is completed," said Sundance Resources Limited.

The beginning of railway construction, where the signing of the contract was also announced in late December, was the condition of the operator to launch the search for funding for the operation of the Mbalam- Nabeba mine.

According to the Australian operator, the Chinese manufacturer has, at the last minute, delivered as a date later said signature until "market conditions improve and the funding search process is more advanced."

In late June 2015, the Cameroonian government, after the Sundance withdrawal to mobilize financial backers for the construction of the railway line, had committed himself to organize the round for circa FCFA 500 million.