[miningmx.com] – A A$1.14bn ($1.2bn) bid for Sundance Resources by China’s Sichuan Hanlong Group was boosted on December 30 after the Australian firm was granted a mining permit for its iron ore deposit.
The Republic of Congo granted a permit for the Nabeba section of Sundance Resources’ Mbalam iron ore deposit which borders Cameroon paving the way for work to start once financing is confirmed, Bloomberg News said.
Hanlong’s bid for Sundance, which has been adjusted downwards and was delayed earlier in December owing to financing concerns, is now viewed as more feasible, a development that saw shares in Sundance gain 17%, the most since July 18, 2010.
Hanlong already owns 14.15% of Sundance. It adjusted its 57 Australian cents per share bid for the company some 21% down to 45 cents/share owing to a decline in iron ore prices. Sundance was last trading at 35 cents share.
“It’s one of the key approvals that they needed to get further uncertainty removed from the project,’ Hayden Bairstow, a Sydney-based resources analyst with CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets Ltd told Bloomberg News.
“Confidence in the industry has been shaken in terms of funding these high-cost, long-life projects in places like West Africa,’ he said.
