Guinean authorities on Tuesday officially began production at Simandou, a massive mining project they hope will propel the impoverished West African nation into the ranks of the world’s largest iron exporters. The long-awaited launch took place during a ceremony attended by the head of Guinea’s military junta, General Mamadi Doumbouya, south of Conakry, at the port of Moribaya, where the crude will be shipped.
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Doumbouya, who came to power in a 2021 coup, declared the day a national holiday, a sign of the importance authorities attach to the mine. Of the four mining deposits in Simandou, two are being developed by Chinese-Singapore group Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS) and the other two by SimFer, a consortium belonging to Rio Tinto and Chinese giant Chinalco.
Ideally, the project will provide a source of much-needed revenue for the country and has already created infrastructure that can help diversify the economy. Industrial partners have invested nearly US$20 billion (about R$105 billion) in the construction of more than 650 kilometers of railway and a huge port.
The Simandou project also represents several thousand direct jobs. Doumbouya, who was wearing a white boubou and did not speak at the ceremony, can now boast that he has finally finished the project. The strongman is running for president in the country’s elections on December 28, despite initially promising to return the government to civilian rule.
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