Guinea seeks developers for Simandou iron-ore deposit
CONAKRY – Guinea has launched an international tender for blocks 1 and 2 of Simandou, giving companies until August 2 to outline their bids, as the country seeks to revive interest in the world's largest undeveloped iron-ore deposit.
Guinea's aspirations to develop Simandou have foundered because of the cost of infrastructure and protracted legal disputes, but strong iron ore prices and the resolution of some of the problems have increased the chances that developers can be found.
Mines Minister Abdoulaye Magassouba told Reuters the international tender would be "open, competitive and transparent". The deadline for companies to express interest was August 2 and the process should be completed 30 days after that, an official close to the tender said.
Government sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said western mining groups and companies from Asia, including China, had shown interest in Simandou, which has a very high grade.
High grade iron-ore commands a premium and has become sought after by countries, including China, because processing it creates less pollution than lower grade ore.
Blocks 1 and 2 have become available following the resolution of one of the legal cases that have embroiled Simandou. Billionaire Beny Steinmetz's BSG Resources (BSGR) said it would walk away from the Simandou project, but retain the right to mine the smaller Zogota deposit.
The Guinean government has said ore mined from Simandou must be shipped from its own ports, presenting a challenge for prospective developers as its location is 650 km from Guinea's coast.
Guinea has said ore from Zogota can be shipped using a Liberian route. Those involved in Zogota have said activity around the smaller, more manageable project could help to release the deadlock around Simandou.
One industry source said Australian iron-ore company Fortescue Metals was interested in the Simandou tender.
Fortescue Metals had no comment.
The Facebook page representing the office of Liberian President George Weah said Fortescue chairperson Andrew Forrest was among a group of potential investors who signed an outline cooperation deal on Liberian rail improvements on July 14.
Fortescue Metals said it had not signed a deal with Liberia over iron ore.
Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto holds a 45.05% stake in Simandou's remaining blocks 3 and 4 which it has been trying to sell.
An outline deal to divest the stake to partner Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco), which holds 39.95 percent, lapsed last year without producing an agreement, with sources citing as one obstacle China's wish to control all four blocks.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation