Rio Tinto has approved US$170 million of further funding for the next stage of developing its Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, including mine, rail, and port infrastructure work.
The investment—adding to the US$650 million already spent on exploration, community development, and evaluation studies—takes effect immediately, optimizing the design of the mine, mine infrastructure, rail system, and port facilities, as well as enabling further work on drilling operations.
The current plan for Simandou involves construction of a mine with an annual capacity of 95 million tonnes, a 650-km dedicated industrial railroad passing through 21 km of tunnels to the coast, a rail car-dumping facility, and a four-berth wharf located 11 km offshore from Matakang.
The investment will include initial work on upgrading the national road, including access from Forecariah to the port site, building the construction wharf at the port, and building project facilities such as offices and a logistics base in Forecariah.
Rio Tinto Chief Executive Iron Ore, Sam Walsh, said recent additional studies and analysis had produced a better mine to port option, enabling delivery to market of at least 95 million tonnes a year of a high-grade sinter fines product.
"This follows the signing of a binding agreement with the Chinese company Chalco last week, under which a joint venture to develop and operate the Simandou iron ore project will be established,” Walsh said. “We expect to start mining operations within five years. Additionally, while we now identify a 95 million-tonne operation as the optimal capacity for the initial development, we believe there is considerable scope to expand the project in subsequent years."
Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the U.K., combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio Tinto Ltd., which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Its business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminum, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc), and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe, and southern Africa.