Spotlight | Guinea
Rio Tinto and Baowu put final touches on Simandou megaproject

The New Guard
Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Tunisia

Every Wednesday, Africa Intelligence spotlights a new generation of movers and shakers in business and politics.

SenegalAmadou Sy, head inspector of Trans-Guinean project

Guinea-BissauPresidential contender João Bernardo Vieira II beefs up his candidacy

TunisiaNadim Jnifen, communications officer rising in the shadows of Richard Attias

Guinea
Chinese firms at the helm as Simandou project gets off the ground

Three giants from the rail and port sectors are in charge of most of the iron ore extraction infrastructure, which is due to come on stream on 11 November, in the presence of President Mamadi Doumbouya.

Guinea
Junta's roadmap for new GAC CEO

Engineer Patrice L'Huillier, who has worked for Eramet and ERG, has been brought in to head up Nimba Mining Co, the state-owned buyer of GAC's bauxite mines. Negotiations with subcontractors, including Bouygues, are expected to be tense.

Guinea
Conakry's plans for new fuel storage depots

While Turkish group Albayrak is currently helping Guinea with a temporary solution for the supply of fuel to the country, the Conakry junta is considering building two new depots in less populated port areas to the north and south of the capital.

Guinea
How France's Egis and Setec survived ousting from Simandou project

Thanks to the support of the Simandou Strategic Committee, Egis and Setec were not ousted from the mining mega-project, even though the WCS and Simfer mining groups tried to put pressure on Conakry.

Guinea
China's Baowu beefs up its Simandou workforce

Baowu Steel has strengthened its teams on the Mount Simandou iron ore megaproject, with around 150 people, mainly from China.

Guinea
China and US groups battle for Trans-Guinean contract

A Chinese and a US firm have both positioned themselves respectively on a major contract for the signalling and supply of locomotives for the future Trans-Guinean railway. The French giant Alstom is also taking a quiet interest in the project.

Guinea
Rio Tinto puts finishing touches to Simandou mining project

The UK-Australian giant has been busy selecting subcontractors and discussing the sale price of iron with its Chinese buyers as it awaits its partner Chinalco's financial commitment to the project, hopefully in March. Rio Tinto has also been in talks with the Guinean junta.

Spotlight | Guinea
The $500m stand-off developing over Simandou

The two consortia involved in the Simandou iron ore project seem to be reluctant to pledge the $500m sought by the construction groups to restart the rail construction work that was stopped in 2022. These uncertainties are fuelling renewed tensions.

Guinea
Rio Tinto hammers out Simandou final deal details with Conakry

The Anglo-Australian giant's negotiating team is in the home straight of its talks with Guinean authorities and with WCS, the other consortium on the Simandou iron deposit.

Guinea
Rio Tinto and WCS in talks over Simandou

The Anglo-Australian giant Rio Tinto and Winning Consortium Simandou are finally seeking to coordinate their respective projects at the Simandou iron ore site. These discussions have been made possible by Winning International's newly ascendant position within WCS and a change in the personnel leading the discussions.

Guinea
Beijing triggers new dynamic at Simandou

The creation of Beijing's new iron ore purchasing arm, China Mineral Resources Group, led by Baowu Steel executives, is likely to entail changes for Chinese state firms involved in the two consortiums that own the colossal Guinean deposit.

Guinea
Rio Tinto focuses on local content and ESG for Simandou

In the ongoing negotiations over the Simandou iron ore project, Conakry is primarily focused on infrastructure for the mine. One company developing the deposit, Rio Tinto, is however pushing to make progress on other fronts.

Guinea
Put on notice by Doumbouya, Rio Tinto negotiates next move in Simandou iron

The Conakry authorities' order to the Simandou operators to suspend all activity on the ground until the details of the project's progress have been clarified comes as Rio Tinto is in the process of recruiting and conducting studies on the Guinean iron ore project.