Sundance Resources chairman George Jones says it may take...

Sundance Resources chairman George Jones says it may take another four weeks to work through outstanding issues with Cameroon over permits for the Mbalam iron ore project, but he remains confident that a $1.4 billion takeover offer from Hanlong Mining will proceed.

“It’s the biggest single investment ever for Cameroon, it’s a bit like what the North-West Shelf is to Western Australia,” Mr Jones told The Weekend Financial Review ?from Brussels on Friday. “It represents 8?per cent of Cameroon’s GDP and this deal is going to revolutionise the country like iron ore mining did for Australia.”

Mr Jones said Sundance’s share price does not reflect his enthusiasm for the deal proceeding. It shares closed at 47.5¢ on Friday, well below Hanlong’s 57¢ a share bid. “When there’s certainty about their funding I think that will change,” he said.

“The terms of this transfer and details around the ongoing operations, security and pricing of access by the Mbalam and Nabeba projects are still under negotiation,” Sundance said.