Iron ore miner Sundance Resources said Tuesday that it expects no delay in the Foreign Investment Review Board's decision on the $1.65-billion takeover bid by China's Sichuan Hanlong Mining.

FIRB approval is needed for foreign investments in Australian-listed companies.

Media reports came out Tuesday that FIRB would reject the takeover until more details would come out in a probe on former Hanlong Managing Director Steven Hio Xiao and ex-Vice President Calvin Zhu.

The investigation of insider trading concerns shares in Sundance and uranium explorer Bannerman Resources, which is also one of Hanlong's takeover targets. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission initiated the investigation.

Hanlong removed the two officials after the probe was made public in September.

"Hanlong has informed Sundance that it is continuing to work productively with a FIRB on its application and expects to receive FIRB's decision well with the indicative timetable," Sundance said in a statement. The Perth-based firm estimates that the transaction would be done by May 2012.

Sundance stressed that the ASIC probe is on individual executives of the Chinese firm, not on Hanlong.