TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Cameroon-focused iron-ore junior Afferro Mining has lifted the National Instrument 43-101-compliant direct shipping ore (DSO) resource at its flagship Nkout iron-ore project by 156% to 64.3-million tonnes.

Afferro said the saprolite DSO, which has a grade of 54.5% iron, could potentially be upgraded on site to a premium product.

The updated mineral resource also reclassified 85.7-million tonnes, grading 39.1% iron of oxidised banded iron formation (BIF) resource in Zone 130, to the indicated resource category.

“The increased DSO and saprolite components of the resource, considered in conjunction with the potential for a strategic partner to unlock port and rail infrastructure, have further advanced Nkout and leave it well placed as a significant asset for the Cameroon mining industry,” Afferro CEO Luis da Silva said.

The company last week accepted a friendly $190-million cash-and-script takeover offer by investment group International Mining & Infrastructure Corporation (IMIC) that could result in the development of Cameroon’s iron-ore corridor.

IMIC, which, through its privately held strategic partner African Iron Ore Group, was building multipurpose transport infrastructure networks in West and Central Africa to unlock value in the metals and mining industry, had offered £0.80 in cash and a two-year convertible loan note with a strike price of £0.40 for each Afferro share.

Afferro’s board, which held a total of 6.3% of the company’s share capital, had confirmed that it would vote in favour of the offer, as would IMIC’s board, which held 5% of Afferro’s issued stock.

The Aim- and TSX-V-listed company needed a partner to unlock port and rail infrastructure to transport iron-ore from Nkout to offtake partners in China.

Last year, Affero said its 70%-owned Ngoa project, which lay within the Essong exploration permit, next to the Nkout iron-ore project and 20 km from the proposed South Cameroon rail corridor, might become a satellite resource to support scalable mining of up to 35-million tons a year at Nkout.