Aim-listed Zanaga Iron Ore Company’s (Zioc’s) joint venture partner Jumelles has made “substantial progress” in progressing the Zanaga project during the six months ended June 30, the company reported on Monday.

This was achieved through the small-scale early production project solution (the EPP project) while simultaneously engaging with large infrastructure and financing entities on the improved development case for the 30-million-tonne-a-year staged development project.

Zioc nonexecutive chairperson Clifford Elphick on Monday added that the combination of higher iron-ore prices in 2019 as well as simultaneous supply shocks from the major iron-ore producers had led to more encouraging conditions for the Zanaga project's development as a tier one iron-ore project.

The Zanaga early production project has the potential to produce iron-ore in a shorter period of time, at low capital cost, using existing brownfield logistics solutions, while the substantial value of the larger 30-million-tonne-a-year project provides strong foundations for a larger development case, Elphick added.

Additionally, Zioc on Monday said that further progress had been made on the development of the Pointe Noire Special Economic Zone, in Congo-Brazzaville, while simultaneously increasing activity in infrastructure development in Congo-Brazzaville with the potential to provide a positive impact to the economy of that country, including the development of mineral resource projects.

Significant rail, port and power projects are also under consideration with the support of large Chinese government funding institutions and infrastructure companies, Zanaga said, adding that the SEZ had the potential to provide critical infrastructure to facilitate the advancement of mineral resource projects in Congo-Brazzaville.

Zanaga had also increased engagement with the entities involved in developing various infrastructure projects in Congo-Brazzaville, with the objective of exploring potential synergies that could support the development of the Zanaga iron-ore project.

Further, value engineering opportunities continue to show potential to reduce construction time and reduce capital and operating cost estimates associated with the Zanaga project, the company said on Monday.

The company had a cash balance of $1.4-million at the end of the period, which subsequently decreased to $1.2-million at August 31.