Singapore Media: Simandou Iron Ore Mine in Guinea: China's Speed Conquers the World - Construction Efficiency is Simply Unbelievable, Shocking the Global Mining Industry
The Power of China's Speed
In 2025, the first batch of iron ore from the Simandou mine was transported on time, with production exceeding expectations, shocking the global mining industry. For a long time, skeptics have considered political instability in Guinea, funding gaps, and environmental sensitivity as insurmountable obstacles. However, this $20 billion mega-project - including a 600-kilometer railway, a new Atlantic port, multiple tunnels and bridges, and two mines - not only completed on schedule but also finished ahead of time. "Its progress speed is astonishing," said an industry analyst, "the construction efficiency is simply beyond imagination."
According to Chinese officials and executives, this was no coincidence - it is what they call "China's speed." The infrastructure of Simandou has been almost entirely built by Chinese contractors, becoming a model of China's industrial machine: rapid mobilization, vertically integrated supply chains, and dozens of companies working together to execute projects. "Once funding and goals are clear," said an executive, "our system can operate quickly and in unison."
Almost all components used Chinese engineering standards, materials, and labor. In the northern block alone, more than 30 Chinese companies participated in the construction, including China Railway Group, China Railway Construction Corporation, China Power Construction Group, China Communications Construction, and subsidiaries of Baowu Steel Group and China Aluminum Corporation. Chinese companies have received over 220 billion yuan in contracts.
The Kindia Tunnel - currently the longest tunnel in West Africa - was one of the most challenging projects. This 11.6-kilometer tunnel, built by China Railway No. 18 Bureau Group, crosses unstable strata and suffers from harsh weather conditions, with 10 months of excavation during the rainy season within a 15-month period. To compensate for this difficulty, construction workers doubled their efforts during the dry season, working around the clock, and lived in forest camps at peak times, surviving on instant noodles.
The Guinean railway project, which spans four provinces and dozens of rivers, required the construction of 80 kilometers of bridges and 7 million cubic meters of earthwork. Multiple sections were built simultaneously and coordinated through a real-time system that could adjust according to rainfall, labor supply, and equipment flow.
Chinese enterprises not only built this system but also took responsibility for its delivery. Winning International coordinated 94 shipments in 27 months, transporting 156,000 tons of steel rails from Anshan Iron and Steel Group. The company ordered more than a dozen ultra-large ore carriers (VLCCs), these 325,000-ton vessels are expected to be put into operation between 2026 and 2027. By mid-2025, Winning will operate a fleet of over 100 ships with an annual throughput capacity of 60 million tons. Effective control over transportation, procurement, and schedules is estimated to have saved the project 1.5 billion US dollars.
Even industry veterans are amazed. "Our understanding of China's development capabilities has been completely transformed," said Simon Trott, CEO of Rio Tinto, during an interview with Chinese media in 2025. "It's not just about speed - but deep coordination across all aspects such as supply chain, engineering, logistics, and capital."
Source: thinkchina, translated from caixin
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849460705935559/
Disclaimer: This article represents the views of the author.