MELBOURNE (Dow Jones)--Sundance Resources Ltd. (SDL.AU) adviser George Jones said Wednesday the company will continue talks with potential partners for its US$3.4 billion Mbalam project in Republic of Cameroon, which he is confident will proceed despite the deaths of six of the miner's top executives in a plane crash.
The chief executive, chairman, company secretary and entire board of directors of Sundance were all killed when their CASA C-212 twin turboprop plane crashed near the border of Cameroon and the Republic of Congo on Saturday.
Jones, who is the former chairman of Sundance, has been appointed as an advisor in the wake of the loss of so much of the corporate team and he said talks with potential partners for Mbalam would continue with his involvement.
"We are in negotiations with people to that end and I know these people so I will pick up the running on that," Jones told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview.
Jones declined to comment on the parties involved in the negotiations but noted that he had strong contacts in China and a history of brokering deals like the one done by Gindalbie Metals Ltd. (GBG.AU) with Chinese steelmaker Anshan Iron & Steel Group Corp.
"There are a lot more steel mills in China that I am friends with as well, and in other parts of the world for that matter," he said.
Sundance has set itself a target of completing construction of Mbalam in 2012 and Jones said one of his tasks now would be to review the planned timeline.
"That is ambitious and I need to interrogate all of that information and make sure it is still realistic," he said.
Sundance still had a strong technical team and would be able to maintain its relationships with the African nations where it was operating, despite the deaths of its executives, he said.
"Those guys have just given their lives for this company and those that are left behind have a responsibility to do something about it," he said.
"I feel a personal responsibility to all these people, and this company not succeeding is not an option."
- By Alex Wilson, Dow Jones Newswires: 613-9292-2094; [email protected]
SDL Price at posting:
13.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
