The leader of the Guinean junta on Saturday, March 18, 2023 relaunched works on Simandou, the gigantic iron ore project with a worldwide impact. The relaunching ceremony took place in Moribaya where the deep-sea port is being built to ship out the iron ore that would be mined on Simandou.
In his speech, Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya threatened to take back Simandou if contract terms are not fully respected by Rio Tinto and Winning Consortium Simandou. For him, Guinea is enthusisatic about the restart of works, but stays cautious and expects some guarantees from its partners on the project.
"Of course, Guinea is enthousiastic about the relaunch of the works on Simandou. However, we stay lucid and are expecting written guarantees from the parent companies of our industrial partners for the funding of the Simandou project as agreed and planned in the shareholder agreement signed on March 8, 2023. Given the capacity of our industrial partners, the dream of our forefathers and people is finally becoming true... You have my support with regards to the project, but know that I am keeping an eye on you. To us, the Simandou project will be executed correctly; it will not be botched. Simandou is a gem that we will not let go easily...The project will be executed as set forth in the contract, else I will get it back. We will not give Simandou away", said the Guinean leader.
Guinea got a 15% non-contributing stakes in the capital of the TransGuinean company, the joint-venture in charge of building and operating the infrastructures of the Simandou project (port and rail track). The two holders of mining licenses on Simandou (Rio Tinto/Simfer and Winning Consortium Simandou) were opposed to the 15% non-contributing participation, but this opposition led the Guinean authorities to put the project on hold. To overcome the obstacle, Guinean authorities called upon the Chinese company Baowu, the world steel leader. The arrival of the giant Chinese company is aimed at restructuring the funding of the joint-venture (Transguinean). This casting from the Guinean Government allowed the signing of the shareholder agreement of the Transguinean and the relaunching of works on Simandou.
Taking part to the ceremony at Moribaya this march18, the CEO of Winning Consortium Simandou recalled that they have made huge investments in the construction of the 670-kilometer-long rail track. Besides, Sun Xiu Shun committed himself to foster local content.
"We commit ourselves to favor local partners, share knowledge and transfer skills to our Guinean employees to create sustainable value for the next generations of Guineans. WCS is confident in its commitment to guarantee that Simandou will be a win-win partnership for all stakeholders, fostering the socio-economic development and well-being of the Guinean people, and for the posperity of the country", said the CEO of WCS.
Simandou to support the fight against global warming in the world
The Minerals and Energy Department Director for Rio Tinto recalled that the iron that will soon be extracted from Simandou will play an important part in decarbonization and in the fight against global warming. He committed his company to foster local content.
"As a world leader in the iron indsutry, Rio Tinto commits itself to put its experience at the disposal of Guinea and development projects. We will support development activities both at the national and local level in a partenrship with the Guinean Government, our partners, other countries, and the Civil Society compying with health and safety standards.