In the notice of expropriation, Sundance has claimed damages of $US8.76 billion based on the iron ore price of $US154 a tonne on the day the notice was lodged. Sundance said it would conduct a full investigation into the actions of the Congo and into Sangha Mining before an arbitration process Sundance has kicked off by issuing a notice of dispute and notice of expropriation to the Congo. Sangha Mining has also been awarded permits and licences for iron ore projects that were stripped from ASX-listed Equatorial Resources and privately-owned Core Mining Congo.Įquatorial Resources said it considered the sudden awarding of the Badondo (Equatorial), Nabeba (Sundance) and Avima (Core) permits to Sangha Mining a “flagrant breach of the RoC (Congo) government’s obligations under the mining code, the relevant mining conventions which exist between the permit holders and the RoC government, and international law”.īoth Sundance and Equatorial said they had no knowledge of Sangha Mining and were not aware of any previous mining activity by the group in RoC.
Sundance said on Monday that the RoC had issued decrees purporting to strip its subsidiary Congo Iron of the mining permit for the Nabeba iron ore project and re-issued the permit to Sangha Mining Development Sasu. It is understood the three Australian companies stripped of their permits will study any links between China, which wields increasing influence in the RoC, and the new permit and licence holder.Ĭhina is a dominant force in mining in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo as well as a long-time supporter of the RoC. The mystery company has been handed rights to about a billion tonnes of high grade iron ore by the RoC at a time Chinese steel mills are stuck paying high prices for Australian product. Two other Australian-based companies have also had iron ore mining and exploration rights stripped by the RoC, which then awarded them to a mystery company with no history in the region.
Perth-based Sundance Resources is seeking a multi-billion dollar payout from the Republic of Congo after being stripped of its iron ore mining licence in the central African nation where China is casting a big shadow.
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