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GUINEA

Unpanicked by coup, mining groups start planning for transition

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“Simandou, Nimba and Zogota: the long and difficult road to the start of iron ore production”

GUINEA

Simandou, Nimba and Zogota: the long and difficult road to the start of iron ore production

Guinea, which has some of the biggest unexploited iron ore deposits in the world in its south eastern corner, is also one of the countries in which they are the most difficult to bring into production, principally because of the absence of infrastructures to evacuate the ore. Société Minière de Boké, which has the rights to the northern part of the Simandou project, still believes in its project, however, and this could serve to encourage its neighbours in the southern part, Rio Tinto and Chinalco. Two other nearby iron ore bodies have also attracted the leading figures of the international mining sector, Nimba and Zogota. All this seems to be attracting new investors to adjoining exploration permits. [...]

The ousting of President Alpha Condé by Col Mamady Doumbouya has not, as yet, affected the country's mining operations. In company headquarters, mining executives are waiting for the junta's next moves and making plans to manage the transition. [...] (865 words)

Issue dated 07/09/2021 Reading time 4 minutes

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Mining Business

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GUINEA
Air France
Alliance guinéenne de bauxite d'alumine et d'aluminium
Alpha Condé
AngloGold Ashanti
Beny Steinmetz Group Resources
Chinalco
Compagnie des bauxites de Guinée
Covid-19
Ghantoot Group
Groupement des forces spéciales
Guinea Alumina Corp
Lansana Conte
Mamadi Doumbouya
Mamady Youla
Moussa Dadis Camara
Rio Tinto
Robert Friedland
Rusal
Société des mines de fer de Guinée
Société minière de Boké
Vale
Winning Consortium Simandou

UK tries to maintain influence in Conakry despite heavy cut in its aid budget

In less than a year, the level of British government funding in Guinea has been lowered by three quarters as a result of Boris Johnson's government's decision to reduce development aid. The UK is still trying to defend its interests in the country, but is finding it difficult. [...]

British ambassador in Guinea, David McIlroy, visiting Beindou, in the center of the country. © Twitter/@david_mcilroy

GUINEA Mining 18/04/2022

AGB2A's battle to produce bauxite

Chinese-Guinean consortium AGB2A has to overcome many obstacles to extract and produce bauxite in Boffa prefecture. A recent conflict between stakeholders is not helping matters. [...]

GUINEA Defence Diplomacy 21/03/2022

Paris quietly resumes military cooperation with Conakry

France has in recent weeks relaunched its military cooperation with Guinea, which was put on hold after last September's coup d'état. [...]

GUINEA Mining 07/03/2022

Rio Tinto's Bold Baatar negotiates with Winning Consortium on Simandou iron collab

The Rio Tinto representative arrived in Conakry a few days ago to discuss with Winning Consortium potential collaborations on the Simandou iron project's infrastructures. [...]

Bold Baatar, Rio Tinto's director of copper operations. © Rio Tinto

SIERRA LEONE Mining 08/02/2022

Diamond mine case pitting local residents against Beny Steinmetz's Octea back in high court

The fight is on to see whether local residents near the Koidu diamond mine in Sierra Leone will be able to sue the site operator, Beny Steinmetz's company Octea, on numerous accounts. They are due to plead their case before the high court of Sierra Leone on 9 February. [...]

GUINEA Mining 28/01/2022

Doumbouya seeks slice of gold exports to replenish its coffers

Equipped with a brand new digital platform for processing foreign trade operations, the Guinean state intends to finally implement a rule that has been in place for several years requiring revenue from exports, especially gold, to be repatriated. [...]

GUINEA Mining 21/12/2021

Rio Tinto moves ever closer to power

If Guinea's authorities once expressed impatience over the mining giant's slowness in dealing with the Simandou iron ore project, the situation has changed. Some of the firm's former employees are now being given prominent positions in the new administration, and one of them has very close ties to the presidency. [...]

GUINEA Commodity traders Politics 21/12/2021

Food price hikes pose first test for putschist Doumbouya

For the past few weeks, the cost of staples such as bread, rice and sugar has been rising. In an effort to maintain his popularity, the new president has promised to cut import taxes, but the move could backfire. [...]

The Guinean President Mamady Doumbouya. © EPA/STR

GUINEA Infrastructures Mining 15/12/2021

Doumbouya seeks to combine Rio Tinto and Winning rail plans for Simandou

Australian mining giant Rio Tinto is trying to assert its interests in the Simandou iron project over those of Winning Consortium, which is reputedly close to the president ousted in a coup in September, Alpha Condé. [...]

Rolling stock being installed on the Dapilon-Santou railway constructed by Winning Consortium Sandou for transporting bauxite in Guinea. © Winning Consortium Simandou/Facebook

LIBERIA GUINEA Infrastructures Mining 17/11/2021

Nimba iron: SMFG still waiting for ArcelorMittal to get on the right track

Having completed the pre-feasibility study for its Nimba iron ore project in Guinea, SMFG has now finalised nearly all aspects for the project's advancement, except for one key issue: the transportation of its future output by train on ArcelorMittal's rail track, which will be needed to get its shipments to buyers. [...]

WEST AFRICA Mining 11/11/2021

Australian miners wary of Russian forays into West Africa

The Australian mining and petroleum community in West Africa is keeping a close eye on the growing Russian influence in the region. [...]

GUINEA Diplomacy 27/10/2021

Military junta ruffles feathers among diplomatic corps

Since mid-September, several of the diplomatic representations in Conakry have complained about the actions of Guinean security forces who are said to have carried out searches of their diplomatic vehicles that they consider 'unfriendly'. [...]

GUINEA Mining 28/09/2021

Battle begins for top mining ministry job

The post of mines and geology minister, which involves overseeing Guinea's biggest economic sector, is highly coveted. With efforts currently under way to form a first post-coup government, it is attracting a lot of applicants. [...]

GUINEA Mining 22/09/2021

With coup dust yet to settle, Iamgold seeks new prospecting licence

Canadian mining group Iamgold, which has been exploring Guinea's Karita gold deposit since 2017, applied for a new exploration permit just a few days after the coup which overthrew President Alpha Condé. [...]

GUINEA Mining 14/09/2021

Decision made on Dynamic and SMB's buoy of contention

Despite the coup, the government has taken action to remove a buoy standing in the way of the bauxite miner's plans to evacuate ore from its Guinean site by sea. [...]

GUINEA Diplomacy 10/09/2021

African presidents discuss Alpha Condé's exile behind closed doors

Ahead of the diplomatic mission dispatched by ECOWAS to Conakry on September 10, secret negotiations over the departure of Guinea's president Alpha Condé, who is being held by the coup leaders, have been taking place. [...]

GUINEA Mining Business 10/09/2021

Putsch casts more doubt on BSGR-Alpha Condé deal negotiated by Sarkozy

The arrival of a military junta in Conakry opens a new stage, the outcome of which remains uncertain, in the saga of the 2019 agreement between Beny Steinmetz's group and Alpha Condé over the Simandou and Zogota iron ore projects. [...]

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and Guinean president Alpha Condé. © Christophe Petit-Tesson/EPA/Newscom/MaxPPP

GUINEA Politics 08/09/2021

Condé clique starts to rally Doumbouya

Since Alpha Condé was ousted, most of his officials seem willing to cooperate with the junta. But some officials, including those from the defence ministry, have gone further and appear to have given their full backing to Col Mamady Doumbouya. [...]

GUINEA Mining 08/09/2021

In the midst of coup, Monaco Resources shakes up bauxite mine leadership Free

A few days before the coup that ousted Alpha Condé, Monaco Resources's subsidiary Société des Bauxites de Guinée, which operates a bauxite mine in the country, decided to part with its managing director. [...]

Breaking newsGUINEA 05/09/2021

After Guinea coup, regional leaders debate reaction to military junta behind closed doors

Breaking news published on 05/09/21 at 7:40 p.m. - Less than 24 hours after the coup that ousted Alpha Conde, ECOWAS presidents started consulting with each other ahead of an extraordinary summit planned shortly to decide what stance to adopt on Guinea and whether or not to apply sanctions. [...]

Guinean President Alpha Condé. © Benoît Tessier/Reuters

GUINEA Mining 02/09/2021

Ailing Alufer puts on a brave face at Bel Air

The British firm's financial straits may be too dire to restart production at its bauxite mine, but that hasn't stopped its management drawing up a contingency plan of attack. [...]

GUINEA Mining 01/09/2021

Confusion reigns over Burkinabe entrepreneur Mahamadou Bonkoungou's gold permits

Recent press articles claiming that Mahamadou Bonkoungou, a billionaire from Burkina Faso, had acquired a licence to operate an industrial mine in Guinea via his company Ebomaf have sparked a fierce controversy. [...]

GUINEA Mining 24/08/2021

Turkish billionaire and Erdogan ally Ahmet Calik hones in on gold and iron

Lidya Madencilik, the Ahmet Calik-led company which set up in Guinea in late 2019 to explore the country's mining potential in partnership with the mines ministry, has given details of the areas it is most interested in developing. [...]

Turkish entrepreneur Ahmet Çalik. © Çalik Holding

GUINEA Infrastructures Mining 01/07/2021

Conakry finds builder for southern bauxite export corridor Free

A subsidiary of the Emirati Ghantoot Group, which is in conflict with Monaco Resources in Guinea, has reached a deal with the national mining infrastructure agency ANAIM to develop routes to evacuate bauxite produced in southern and central regions. [...]

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GUINEA
Air France
Alliance guinéenne de bauxite d'alumine et d'aluminium
Alpha Condé
AngloGold Ashanti
Beny Steinmetz Group Resources
Chinalco
Compagnie des bauxites de Guinée
Covid-19
Ghantoot Group
Groupement des forces spéciales
Guinea Alumina Corp
Lansana Conte
Mamadi Doumbouya
Mamady Youla
Moussa Dadis Camara
Rio Tinto
Robert Friedland
Rusal
Société des mines de fer de Guinée
Société minière de Boké
Vale
Winning Consortium Simandou

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Unpanicked by coup, mining groups start planning for transition