Australian mining company Sundance Resources Ltd said on Wednesday a strategic partner for its 4 billion U.S. dollars Mbalam iron ore project in West Africa was most likely to be a Chinese state-owned steel mill.

The Perth-based international iron ore company said discussions about a strategic partner were the most advanced with Chinese state-owned steel mills although potential partners elsewhere in Asia, India and Australia had also been approached.

"We have been in discussions with a number of strategic partners and it's not just been solely Chinese - there have been others from Asia, India and Australia," Sundance chief executive Guilio Casello told the Global Iron Ore and Steel Forecast conference in Perth on Wednesday.

But involvement would likely be largely Chinese, Casello added.

" ... predominantly we are focusing (on), and our discussions are most advanced with, state owned-Chinese steel mills who are looking to buy in at the project level to lock in iron ore supplies," Casello said.

He said Sundance was on track to deliver a definitive feasibility study for the Mbalam project by the end of March, which was expected to confirm a revised capital cost estimate of 4 billion U.S. dollars, up from 3.6 billion U.S. dollars previously.

The Mbalam project involves a 480km rail line to the Kribi port on the Cameroon coast and two mines in the republics of Cameroon and Congo, all of which will be constructed by Sundance.

The project is a large undertaking where Sundance will seek strategic partners to share the cost.