Chengdu (CNS)--—On July 18, the Hanlong Group, based in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, confirmed that its sub-company Hanlong Mining had formally requested a leveraged buyout of the iron mine exploration company Sundance Resources for about $1.5 billion.
Sundance holds absolute control over the Mubarak iron mine in the Republic of Cameroon. Once the buyout goes through, the Chinese company will own the third largest unexplored iron mine over the globe.
So far, the Mubarak iron mine has detected an iron storage of over 2.8 billion tons and it is estimated to contain over 10 billion tons of resources for 50 years of exploitation. The project is planned to start in 2014 at a yearly output of 50 million tons, ranking fifth around the globe. Transportation infrastructure, such as railways and ports, has also seen Chinese cooperation.
On March 18, Hanlong Mining bought out 18.6% of Sundance stocks on the Australian stock market and became the biggest stakeholder. The leveraged buyout plan continues from April.
According to Dr. Xiao Hui, the CEO and board director of Hanlong Mining, they are positioning themselves as a world class mining group. This buyout is rather significant to the Chinese mining industry. The Mubarak project will undoubtedly create a new phase in the Chinese, and even international, mining industry.
