Australia-listed Cape Lambert Resources said Friday it has lodged the mining license application for its flagship Marampa iron ore project in Sierra Leone, the final step in the permitting process before moving towards production.

"The granting of the mining license will also significantly enhance the asset's appeal to potential buyers," Cape Lambert executive chairman Tony Sage said in a statement.

The Marampa project is expected to produce 2.5 million mt/year of iron ore in its first phase, increasing to 15 million mt/year in its second phase.

Cape Lambert is actively seeking a buyer for an equity stake in its currently 100% owned Marampa project, with several parties, including major steel mills and traders in China and India, showing interest, the company recently told Platts.

The company Friday said it expects to finalise an infrastructure agreement with African Minerals to export ore from Marampa within two weeks. The agreement will grant Cape Lambert rights to export 2 million wet mt/year (1.8 million mt/year) of concentrate via the recently refurbished and currently operational Pepel rail and port infrastructure.

Under the agreement, African Minerals also holds an option to buy 2 million wet mt/year of Marampa's concentrate at mine gate for the first three years of production.

Sage said he remains confident of the outlook for the West African iron ore sector as it has clear cost advantages over global markets.

"Once in production, higher operating costs in other regions make iron ore less competitive than iron ore produced in West Africa, where operating costs are considerably less. Because of this advantage, West Africa will remain of high interest to China as it searches for long term sources of iron ore outside of Brazil and Australia," he said.

Cape Lambert expects to complete construction of Marampa 12 months after securing all licenses. However, a start date for production has not yet been set, the company said.