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Sundance and Congo Iron v. Congo, Claimant's Press Release, July 21, 2022

21 Jul 2022
Sundance Resources Limited and Congo Iron SA v. Republic of Congo, ICC Case No. 26145/DDA/AZO (C-26344/AZO)
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Claimant's Press Release
Document Details:
LISTED PARTICIPANTS
Claimant's Press Release
Participants listed are for this document only and may not include all participants involved in the entire case. Always consult the original documents.
Claimant appointee
Respondent appointee
Tribunal/Panel chair
Arbitrator(s)
Sole Arbitrator
ICSID Annulment Committee president
ICSID Annulment Committee members
WTO Appellate Body members
WTO Appellate Body chair
Judges
Claimant's counsel
Claimant's law firm
Respondent's counsel
Respondent's law firm
Other counsel
Claimant's expert
Claimant's expert firm
Respondent's expert
Respondent's expert firm
Claimant's witness
Respondent's witness
Other witnesses
Tribunal secretary
Tribunal assistant
Third-party funder
Entities
Sundance Resources Limited, Congo Iron SA, Congo, Cameroon
Country
Print reporter
Document Summary
Claimant's Press Release
This summary note is machine-generated. Always consult the original materials.

Procedural Posture and Background

This document is a public market update issued by Sundance Resources Ltd on 21 July 2022, detailing the procedural status of its parallel international arbitration proceedings against the Republic of Congo and the Republic of Cameroon, as well as domestic pre-action discovery proceedings in the Supreme Court of Western Australia against AustSino Resources Group Ltd.

Arbitration Against the Republic of Congo

In the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration against Congo, the claimant filed its Memorial of Claim on 27 May 2022. The dispute arises from the alleged unlawful expropriation of the Nabeba iron ore exploitation permit in November 2020. The Memorial encompasses the factual background, legal bases for claims under the Nabeba Convention, witness statements, and independent expert reports estimating damages between USD 1.5 billion and USD 5.7 billion. Congo is directed to submit its Counter-Memorial by November 2022, with the primary evidentiary hearing anticipated in the first quarter of 2024.

Arbitration Against the Republic of Cameroon

In the parallel ICC arbitration against Cameroon, seated in Paris, the dispute centers on Cameroon’s alleged failure to implement the Mbalam Exploitation Permit pursuant to the 2015 Transition Agreement. The update confirms that on 20 July 2022, the Emergency Arbitrator dismissed Cameroon’s request to annul a prior interim order dated 1 April 2022. The operative interim order remains in force, strictly enjoining Cameroon and its instrumentalities from granting exploitation rights over the Mbalam iron ore deposit to any third party, including Sonamines, pending the constitution of the arbitral tribunal.