Guinea Gives Simandou Mine Developers 14-Day Deadline

Partners in Guinea’s Simandou iron ore mine have been given 14 days to finalise a joint venture, by interim president Mamady Doumbouya.

The ultimatum cae during a meeting with the miners, Rio Tinto and Chinese-backed Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS) on Friday.

Guinea has grown increasingly impatient with the companies that control the giant Simandou deposit, which has not been developed since Rio was first granted an exploration license for it 25 years ago.

The ruling junta signed an agreement with Rio and WCS in March under which the firms would collaborate on a 670-kilometre (416 mile) railway and a port to get Simandou’s high-grade ore to market.

Doumbouya said there had been insufficient progress since then, adding that the situation was not only regrettable, but above all, unacceptable for the state.

The Guinean authorities have previously warned that the companies risked losing their mining licenses if they failed to meet a tight construction timeline for the Simandou project.