Australia’s Equatorial Resources Limited has acquired a 19.9 per cent interest in African Iron Limited, it has been announced.
African Iron owns an 80 per cent stake in the Mayoko-Lekoumou iron project, which is situated next to Equatorial’s 100 per cent owned Mayoko-Moussondji iron project in the Republic of Congo.
Located in the country’s south-west region around 300 kilometres north-east of Pointe-Noire, Mayoko-Lekoumou has an existing inferred mineral resource of 33 million tonnes at 56 per cent Fe of supergene direct shipping hematite. African Iron said its objective is to develop an initial five million tonne per annum DSO operation at Mayoko by mid-2013.
Mayoko-Moussondji has an estimated global exploration target of between 2.3 and 3.9 billion tonnes of iron mineralisation at a grade of 30 to 65 per cent Fe.
Both projects have access to a rail line running directly to the deepwater port of Pointe-Noire, where Equatorial’s operational office is located.
Commenting, John Welborn, MD and CEO of Equatorial, said: “We are very pleased to have acquired this strategic stake in African Iron Limited. In the longer term we see a number of positive synergies between our two iron projects afforded by their close proximity and their strategic access to operational transport infrastructure.
“It is not our current intention to make a takeover bid for African Iron as we continue to focus on adding value to our 100 per cent owned Mayoko-Moussondji and Badondo Iron projects. We will continue to cooperate with African Iron on a number of positive operational initiatives at Mayoko and within the Republic of Congo as we become major players in the development of this globally significant iron ore province.”
The Badondo Iron project, in the north-west region of the country, has an estimated global exploration target of between 1.3 and 2.2 billion tonnes of iron mineralisation at a grade of 30 to 65 per cent Fe. The project is located within a regional cluster of world-class iron ore exploration projects including Sundance Resources’ Mbalam and Nabeba projects.
Both companies are headquartered in Perth, Western Australia.
