Australian miner Sundance Resources has announced that it has terminated the takeover agreement with Hanlong Mining, a subsidiary of Sichuang Province-based Chinese industrial conglomerate Sichuan Hanlong (Group) Co., under which Hanlong was to have acquired 100 percent of Sundance.

Sundance has decided to terminate the agreement because the funding condition was not met and after being informed by Hanlong that it was unlikely to meet the other required conditions.

Additionally, Hanlong has requested the withdrawal of the provisional approval granted by China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to Hanlong, which was extended by the NDRC earlier this year. This removes Hanlong's exclusivity in China as proponent of the Mbalam‐Nabeba project.

According to Sundance's statement, the termination of the agreement will enable the company to focus all its efforts on discussions with other parties which have expressed strong interest in the Mbalam-Nabeba iron ore project in the Republic of Congo. Sundance is engaging with other potential Chinese strategic partners with a view to developing the project, also progressing discussions with non‐Chinese parties.