Sundance Resources says it is aiming to have offtake agreements by the end of the year to allow construction to start at its Mbalam iron ore project in West Africa.

Sundance chairman George Jones said discussions with partners were "well advanced".

"We are currently actively negotiating on several fronts to secure both off-take contracts and project finance with steel mills," he said in an interview released to the Australian stock exchange.

"We are aiming to have all of these foundation agreements in place before the end of this calendar year to enable us to start construction by the middle of next year," he said.

The Mbalam project is located in Cameroon.

Sundance shares were up two cents, or 8.89 per cent, to 24.5 cents shortly before the close of trade.