No, that's not what I'm saying. ANS doesn't need legal rights.
This is my opinion only. I have no facts other than what we've read in the media or has been written on these threads.
SDL have the legal rights but no financial means to further the project. They can't find a financial backer to pay for the infrastructure buildout.
ANS (China 5 if that's indeed them) has the infrastructure means, but no legal rights. They attempted to buy a controlling interest of SDL, but that didn't work.
The Cameroon Govt wants the mine operational and revenue flowing through. It knows SDL can't get the ore to port, but the Cam Gov has now signalled the option of using the China 5 to do that part. The China 5 will finance it and provide the rail/port/shipping/buyer.
So, the Cam Govt would either force SDL to use the China 5, or else what...strip the rights and grant permission to another party? Does SDL have the money to fight a legal battle? Does the Cam Govt want that option because it could take years. So many questions as to how this would play out.
Perhaps ANS has other mines like Simandou they'd like to tender for? If you have a workforce in Africa, why not do as many infrastructure builds as possible. Who knows!
