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Guinea has officially inaugurated production at Simandou, a massive iron ore mining operation intended to transform the West African nation into one of the world’s leading iron exporters.
The long-awaited launch ceremony took place at the new port of Morebaya, south of the capital, Conakry. It was attended by the head of the junta, General Mamady Doumbouya, who emphasised the project’s importance by declaring Tuesday a national public holiday.
The Simandou venture, which has required approximately $20 billion in infrastructure investment, involves two major international consortia.
The Chinese-Singaporean group Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS) and the SimFer partnership (owned by Rio Tinto and China’s Chinalco) are developing the four main deposits.
To make the landlocked resources accessible, industrial partners constructed more than 650 kilometres (400 miles) of railway and a massive deep-water port. This infrastructure is expected not only to provide a critical stream of revenue for Guinea but also to help diversify the country’s broader economy and create several thousand direct jobs.
General Doumbouya, who seized power in a 2021 coup, can now boast of having successfully pushed the decades-stalled project across the finish line.
This successful launch provides a significant talking point for the military strongman, who is currently seeking the presidency in the December 28 elections despite earlier promises to restore civilian rule.
