A press release sent last Friday by one of the companies in charge of the port and rail infrastructure construction project indicated that the Guinean government has signed new agreements with its partners. It will involve the exploitation of the huge Simandou ferric deposit (

The project document mentions that “the signing of these (new) agreements constitutes a decisive step, establishing a comprehensive framework for the major infrastructures of the Simandou project.” Indeed, the Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto Simfer is in charge, with the Chinese Winning Consortium, of the future exploitation of the Simandou site, one of the largest ferric deposits in the world. According to the source, “the establishment of infrastructure will facilitate the export of ferric ore and the transport of passengers/goods

According to the same document, the agreements signed by Guinea provide for the construction of a railway of about 670 km to connect the mining corridor to a mineral port on the Guinean coast south of Conakry. They will end in December 2024, while the first commercial production should take place no later than March 31, 2025.