Source: Getty Images
After a full thirty years, the longest mining project in Africa has finally come to an end. The large-scale Simandou mining project in Guinea has now entered the operational phase, with the first iron ore shipments beginning to be exported.
The official launch of the project will take place on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, and will be presided over by General Mamady Doumbouya, the head of the ruling military government in Conakry.
To celebrate this milestone, two foreign heads of state closely associated with the Guinean military – President Brice Oligui Nguema of Gabon and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda – have been invited to attend the event.
The moment marking the start of mining at the vast Simandou site will see the first iron ore being exported through the Morebaya Port in the south of Conakry.
Since the coup in 2021, transitional president Mamady Doumbouya has used the activation and operation of the Simandou mine as his main communication tool.
Many observers following Guinean politics believe that the National Council for Development (CNRD) will use this as the main message for the presidential election campaign scheduled for December 28th.
"Simandou 2040" is the name given by the National Council for Development (CNRD) to its development plan for the next 15 years in Guinea. For Mamady Doumbouya, the iron ore from Simandou is as important to Guinea as oil is to Gulf countries.
But why did this large project only start operating after 30 years in Guinea?
What is the Simandou Mining Giant Project?
Source: Getty Images
The Simandou Mining Giant Project has attracted attention throughout Guinea for three decades. In the mid-1990s, the British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto officially discovered this massive iron ore deposit.
The Simandou project is a globally significant project, including an open-pit iron ore mine located in the Simandou Mountains in the southeast of Guinea, east of the town of Kouroussa, stretching about 100 kilometers across the Guinean plains and 5 to 6 kilometers wide. It is one of the largest iron ore reserves in the world.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the mine's annual capacity is estimated at 100 million tons.
This is the largest integrated iron ore mining project in the history of Africa.
Due to its location in the mountains, some hills exceed 1,600 meters in elevation, which presents logistical challenges for its operation.
Because of its high purity, Simandou iron ore is in high demand in the international market. According to the World Bank, its reserves are comparable to those of Brazilian iron ore and far exceed the world's largest Australian iron ore reserves.
Challenges That Caused the Project Delays
Source: Getty Images
Estimated iron ore reserves at the Simandou mine are 4.4 billion tons. At full capacity, it can produce up to 100 million tons per year.
Currently, Rio Tinto operates the southern part of the mine, while the Chinese-Guinean joint venture Simandou Consortium (WCS) operates the northern part.
Over the past few months, excavators have been actively mining in the Simandou Mountains. The ore is transported by trucks and then loaded onto railway freight cars, ready to be shipped to Morebaya Port and then exported from there.
However, first, the challenge of transporting the iron ore to the export port must be overcome.
A cross-Guinea railway (670 km long) connecting the production base to the coast is also under construction. This railway will also be used for transporting passengers, goods, and fuel.
The project also includes the construction of a new deep-water port in the south of Conakry. The port has four ore barge berths, each with a throughput capacity of 12,000 tons. The expected annual iron ore throughput of the port is 70 million tons.
The port also has two multi-purpose 8,000-ton berths, with a general cargo handling capacity of 2.5 million tons per year and a petroleum product handling capacity of 578,000 tons per year.
This large project requires extensive infrastructure such as roads, bridges, power plants, etc., which posed major challenges for the implementation of the project.
Other reasons, including停工, delays in starting operations, corruption, litigation between mining companies and the government, and contract renegotiations, have hindered the development of the large Simandou deposit. The Guinean presidential palace stated in a statement that all parties should share responsibility for this.
The Military Government Changed the Game.
Source: Presidency of the Republic of Guinea
The head of the Guinean military government has taken the project as its own and used it as a key tool for public relations work. After seizing power through a coup in 2021, General Mamady Doumbouya accelerated the construction of the large Simandou mining project.
He first suspended all activities related to the project and forced the relevant stakeholders to sign a framework agreement in March 2022 to pool investments.
To ensure that all parties fulfill their commitments, the presidency established a strategic committee directly under the presidency. The military government has also consistently urged the acceleration of this process.
The agreement contains penalty clauses for delays, including revocation of licenses. According to the agreement, production will officially begin on November 11, 2025.
Subsequently, Mamady Doumbouya created the Cross-Guinea Company (CTG) together with the Guinean nation, which is responsible for building and operating the railway and port required for mining the iron ore.
The main partners of the project, including Simandou-Rio Tinto/SimFer, the winning consortium Simandou/Baowu, and the Guinean government, signed a memorandum of understanding on October 22nd, designating shipping companies to ensure the export of the ore.
On November 2nd, CTG received the first iron ore transport ships at the Morebaya Port, confirming the acceleration of the operational plan and the imminent start of the first export operations at the Simandou Port.
Expected Economic Benefits
Source: Presidency of the Republic of Guinea
Over $2.15 billion in investment is being used to develop this world-class iron ore deposit. According to experts from the companies involved in the project, the ore quality of the Simandou deposit is excellent, with an estimated grade of 65.80%, making it one of the best deposits in the world.
It is expected that the first 10 million tons of iron ore will be placed on the international market in 2026. Subsequently, the annual mining volume is planned to reach 34.45 million tons, increasing to 69 million tons in the second phase.
According to the World Bank's forecast, the first phase of mining activities will make Guinea the second-largest iron ore producer in Africa (after South Africa), and later, it will become the largest in Africa and seventh in the world.
In the coming years, the country could produce more than 120 million tons of iron ore annually, placing it among the top five iron ore producers in the world,仅次于 Australia, Brazil, China, and India.
The development of this deposit is expected to bring significant benefits and completely change Guinea's economic landscape. Mineral exports, royalties, taxes, and tariffs will generate substantial local currency and foreign exchange revenue.
According to the World Bank's prediction, due to the development of the Simandou iron ore deposit, Guinea is expected to achieve the highest growth rate in the world during the period from 2025 to 2027, with GDP growth of 7.5% in 2025, 9.3% in 2026, and 11.6% in 2027.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) prediction, the Simandou mining project is expected to increase Guinea's GDP by 26% by 2030. This data indicates that Guinea's economy is undergoing transformation.
Aside from the economic aspect, the project will also create thousands of jobs, benefiting the country's youth.
It is expected that economic activity in the upper parts of Guinea and along the roads, railways, and ports will be stimulated. Mining companies will be able to cooperate with local enterprises, which is expected to benefit the Guinean economy.
In recent years, due to strong demand from China, iron ore prices have risen. Currently, the price of iron ore on the international market is approximately $104 per ton.
Source: BBC
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7573105629850583598/
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