Mbalam key to ‘unlocking’ new African iron-ore frontier
The Mbalam project is at the heart of an emerging iron-ore province that will be of considerable significance in years to come, Sundance Resources project director David Meehan told the Investing in African Mining Indaba, in Cape Town.
The Mbalam project, on the border of Cameroon and the Republic of Congo, is based on the Phase 1 initial production of 35-million tons a year of direct shipping ore hematite for about ten years, with Phase 2 covering the next 15 years of production of high-grade itabirite hematite concentrate.
“The development of an integrated road, rail and port project . . . will be instrumental in unlocking the considerable potential of the region,” said Meehan.
He said Sundance was putting significant effort into the infrastructure development. The ASX-listed company is developing a 580 km rail line to the coast from south-east Cameroon. The railway would be designed with an initial capacity of 35-million tons a year, with the possibility of being upgraded to as much as 100-million tons a year to facilitate carriage of third-party ore.
The export port on the Cameroonian coast would be built with a 1.2 km open water jetty with a single berth. The dredged approach channel and turning pocket of the port would be designed to accommodate 300 000 t vessels. Provision would be made for future expansion to create a second berth to accommodate third- party ore export, again encouraging develop-ment of other iron-ore projects in the region.
Meehan said company studies estimated the capital cost for Phase 1 would be $4.7-billion and for Phase 2 $3.1-billion.
Operation costs were estimated at $21/t for Phase 1 and $40/t for Phase 2. “The operating costs are very favourable compared with other comparable iron-ore operations around the world and the primary reason for this low operating cost is the very low strip ratio inherent in the Mbalam iron-ore project,” explained Meehan.
He said the company was moving into the project implementation phase, with some preliminary construction taking place on the infrastructure aspects of the project.
“We are exceptionally well placed to realise our vision of becoming a major global iron-ore producer,” asserted Meehan.
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