International Mining & Infrastructure will continue to look for more targets in the iron ore sector once it completes its acquisition of Afferro Mining.

Mr Haresh Kanabar chairman of IMIC said that “The Afferro deal is expected go through in the coming weeks and is a first step to it IMIC becoming a significant player in the African iron ore market.”

African Iron Ore, a group which specializes in infrastructure and that recently signed a deal with the Liberian government is IMIC’s strategic partner. The two companies are working together on the infrastructure for the Simandou South iron ore project in the Republic of Guinea which could eventually become the backbone of the country's transport network the partners believe.

Afferro appealed as a target because it had a number of iron ore projects in Cameroon, notably its 100% owned flagship asset at Nkout that lack an infrastructure solution.

Results for the nine months to march showed a loss after tax of GBP 2.13 million which reflected increased activity relating to its Afferro bid and a rise in administration expenses to GBP 1.3 million. These results, together with a Management Discussion and Analysis will be included in Afferro’s Canadian Court Circular that forms part of the takeover.

Broker Ocean Equities said that IMIC’s African iron ore development strategy is now live. The plan revolves around identifying and acquiring quality African iron ore assets and developing the required bulk commodity infrastructure through its partner AIOG and the relationships and agreements AIOG has with Chinese state owned enterprises.