SUNDANCE RESOURCES (ASX:SDL) has announced a major resource upgrade at its Mbalam iron ore project in the Republic of Congo. Total high-grade hematite resource is 484Mt at 61.1pc Fe, and the inventory of high-grade hematite Indicated Resources has more than doubled to 417.7Mt @ 61.4pc Fe. This is largely as a result of the conversion from Inferred to Indicated category at the Nabeba deposit. As previously announced, the company also has defined a world-class JORC-Code compliant itabirite hematite resource at Mbarga, which remains unchanged from the estimate of 2.32 billion tonnes @ 38pc Fe. SDL shares rose a mere 2c to 49c on Friday, an improvement from 39c when Ferret pointed out its prospects last November. Slowness to react to the upgrade news was, maybe, the market having to absorb the $191 million or 16 per cent parcel from the Ken Talbot estate last week at around 44c. Last year Ferret suggested that 12c was a cheap price to pay after the market wavered over a suspension in the wake of the tragic plane crash in the Congo when most of the company's directors were killed. In the latest development, MD and CEO Giulio Casello said upgraded the resource estimate further strengthens the company's confidence of the viability of the project. "We are now approaching half a billion tonnes of high-quality iron resources and 85 per cent of that is now Indicated. "Combining this with a world-class itabirite deposit of over 2.3 billion tonnes, which lies under the Mbarga DSO deposit, we have a globally significant project capable of producing 35 million tonnes per annum of high-quality iron ore for at least 25 years," he declared.
JR
SDL Price at posting:
49.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
