(Business in Cameroon) - Giulio Casello, CEO of Sundance Resources and President of the Board of Cam Iron, the Cameroonian subsidiary of the junior Australian mining company who is steering the project for the operation of the Mbalam-Nabeba iron deposit, just visited Cameroon and Congo, the two countries involved in the above-mentioned project. In Yaoundé, we officially learned, Mr Casello also met the Prime Minister, Philémon Yang.

This tour by the CEO of Sundance Resources, an official note from Cam Iron reveals, was meant to "reaffirm the desire of the Australian group to develop the Mbalam iron project". Because, Mr Casello claims, "the Mbalam iron project is at the moment the best mining project worldwide, at least where iron and associated substances are concerned. It is not even thinkable, he continued, to consider abandoning such an important project, especially with the constant support of the highest authorities in Cameroon and Congo in this difficult period. No-one has been spared by the current crisis, but with the support of the public authorities we are sure to overcome this hurdle".

It is based on the importance of this project that, Cam Iron highlights, "the Sundance Resources group started a daring costcutting strategy, to keep its Cameroonian and Congolese subsidiaries profitable", at a time when "several other mining project sponsors in the world are closing down their operations, due to the international environment on the commodities market".

Regarding this gloomy international environment for raw materials, including iron, Cam Iron reminds that "the financial model of the Mbalam iron project was done with a price estimate for iron higher than USD 100 per ton. At the height of the crisis, the price dropped to USD 39 per ton. Today, prices have stabilised around USD 50 per ton".

Therefore, the Cameroonian subsidiary of Sundance Resources claims that "Cam Iron is going with success through this period of great troubles which has not spared any player in the mining sector for close to two years now"; this especially as, the mining company continues, "today, experts in the sector agree to say that the worst is behind us, the iron one industry is stabilised".

As a reminder, the project for the operation of the Mbalam iron one, sitting astride Cameroon and Congo, is currently stumbling on the the signature of an agreement for the financing and construction of infrastructure (500 km railway and one terminal in the deep water port of Kribi) linked to the project.

Scheduled for December 2015, this agreement signing was postponed sine die, the company China Ghezouba with whom the government was about to sign this agreement having requested a deferral, while it stresses, "market conditions improve and the finance seeking process is further advanced".

Brice R. Mbodiam

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01-02-2016 - Cameroun : Sundance Resources réduira ses charges de 80% sur le projet fer de Mbalam-Nabeba

13-01-2016 - Cameroun : la signature du contrat des infrastructures du projet fer de Mabalam reportée sine die