Guinea Orders Rio Tinto to Halt Work on Simandou Iron Ore Mine

Guinea’s ruling junta, which took power in a coup in September, has become increasingly impatient with Rio Tinto and other companies involved in the Simandou project. Guinea’s Mines Minister Mr Moussa Magassouba recently wrote to Rio Tinto and China backed SMB Winning Consortium, directing them to stop all work related to Simandou. The letter from the nation’s military rulers said the companies have shown an unacceptable lack of willingness to agree on a joint venture for funding the project’s transport infrastructure.In March, it halted construction works on the mine and forced Rio Tinto and the SMB-Winning Consortium to establish a framework for the project’s infrastructure including a 670-kilometre railway line and a port.The government’s intervention adds to doubts surrounding the timeline for developing Simandou, which is considered the world’s biggest untapped resource of the steel-making ingredient iron ore.Rio Tinto has a 45% stake in a consortium that owns two of Simandou’s iron ore tenements. The SMB-Winning Consortium, made up mostly of Chinese entities, owns the other two.Simandou is among the world's largest undeveloped, rich deposits of iron ore--the main ingredient in steel and has the potential to reshape the global market, which has long been dominated by exports from Australia and Brazil.

Guinea Orders Rio Tinto to Halt Work on Simandou Iron Ore Mine

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