Expected to become one of the world’s largest iron ore mines, the Simandou project in south-eastern Guinea has achieved a major development milestone, securing a US$15 billion financing deal to build export infrastructure.

The two developers of the four concession blocks in the project – Rio Tinto Simfer and Winning Consortium Simandou – are joining forces to develop strategic logistics infrastructure for the mine and will share responsibility for the costs involved, reports Mining.com and Small Caps.

The infrastructure work includes developing 600 km of multi-use railway as well as port infrastructure on the coast of the Forécariah prefecture in Guinea to facilitate the export of the iron ore, according to Rio Tinto.

‘Simandou is no longer a dream but a reality. There is no doubt that the project will be delivered on schedule by the end of December 2025,’ says Djiba Diakite, head of the strategic committee that led the financing negotiations.

Simandou’s proven ore reserves are estimated at 273 million tons at 66.4% iron.

16 April 2024
Image: Freepik