African Minerals Ltd is exploring the possibility of blending its iron ore with products from another mine in Sierra Leone to produce higher-grade ore for sale to steelmakers in Europe, the company said. By sharing infrastructure with Timis Corp, a company owned by its executive chairman, African Minerals would also cut its freight costs, the company said on Monday. Shares of African Minerals rose as much as 20 percent in early trading to rank among the top gainers on the London Stock Exchange. Miners in West Africa, once seen as a new frontier for iron ore mining, have been hit by a 40 percent drop in the price of the steelmaking ingredient this year, exacerbated by disruptions caused by the Ebola outbreak in the region. London Mining Plc became a victim of the downturn last month, when it ran out of funds. Timis Corp, established by African Minerals Executive Chairman Frank Timis, bought its key asset, the Marampa mine, from administrators. With that deal now completed, African Minerals said it had agreed with Timis Corp to explore the possibility of blending products from its Tonkolili mine with ore from Marampa. If successful, it would be able to sell to European steelmakers at a significant premium to the price at which it sells to China. Because of its lower quality, West African ore typically sells at a discount to the benchmark 62 percent iron price <.IO62-CNI=SI>. African Minerals said the current price quoted by commodities pricing agency Platts for iron ore with 58 percent iron content was $67.50 per tonne. The Platts 62 percent Fe price was $80.00 per tonne, African Minerals said. African Minerals mines ore with about 58 percent iron content at Tonkolili. Marampa’s iron content is higher, at about 65 percent. African Minerals said it has also agreed access for Timis Corp to rail and port infrastructure. Marampa lies about 120 km west (75 miles) of the Tonkolili mine. African Minerals’ rail line runs close by. African Minerals has had its own financial troubles. In September, the company unveiled plans to boost revenues by reducing discounts and requiring a premium on some of its iron ore. The company, which has offtake agreements with Shandong Iron and Steel Group and China Railways Materials Commercial Corporation, exported 8.9 million tonnes of direct shipping ore in the first half of the year at an average freight rate of $23 per tonne. The company did not disclose the financial terms of the deal with Timis Corp, but said that it would reflect standard commercial terms in the industry and add to its earnings. African Mineral’s shares were up 5 percent at 15.75 pence at 1054 GMT. The stock has shed more than 90 percent of its value since the beginning of the year.