Posted on 23 Dec 2020
The Republic of Congo has withdrawn the Nabeba mining permit from Sundance’s subsidiary Congo Iron, the Australian-headquartered firm says. The nation's government has instead issued the permit to Sangha Mining Development Sasu.
The official journal of the Republic of Congo also contains decrees affecting iron ore projects operated by other companies. These involve the removal of the mining permit for the Avima iron ore project, and the issuance of mining permits for Avima and the Badondo exploration licence to Sangha Mining, Sundance observes.
“Sundance does not know who or what Sangha Mining is or who Sangha Mining’s beneficial owners are,” the firm says in a note seen by Kallanish.
“A full investigation into the actions of Congo and Sangha Mining will be completed before the commencement of the arbitration process, which Sundance has initiated via the issuance of a Notice of Dispute and a Notice of Expropriation to Congo on 15 December 2020,” it continues. The firm plans to pursue a claim for compensation amounting to $8.76 billion.
“The Nabeba deposit is the most advanced in the region because of the work done by Sundance over many years,” Sundance says. “When combined with the other two projects whose licences have been expropriated, we are talking about approximately one billion tonnes of high-grade, direct-shipping iron ore within a 100km radius that have been illegally seized by the Congo Government.”
As a result of the situation, Sundance has been forced to delist from the Australian Stock Exchange as of close of trading on 21 December. The loss of the mining permit in Congo means the company no longer has a business which would satisfy the requirements of Chapter 12 of the Listing Rules, it explains.
In Cameroon, meanwhile, Sundance's subsidiary Cam Iron is commencing the formal dispute resolution process over an alleged breach of the government’s obligations to finalise Cam Iron's exploitation permit. If the dispute cannot be resolved by negotiation, Sundance and Cam Iron intend to commence international arbitration against Cameroon.
Source:Kallanish
