[miningmx.com] — RIO Tinto may use trucks to export iron ore from its Simandou project in Guinea before a 2015 target, CEO Tom Albanese told Reuters on Thursday.
“We do have a conceptual study underway for an early trucking option in parallel with the construction of the rail line,” he said in an email to Reuters.
“This will deliver tonnes (…) well before 2015 and (…) allow us to switch to available rail capacity as it is developed before 2015,” he said.
He did not give details on how much iron ore might be exported from the Simandou project before 2015. Simandou is one of the world’s largest unexploited iron ore reserves.
More than $1bn has been committed for urgent studies on a 650 km railway to link the mine in the north to the west coast of the Gulf of Guinea nation, Albanese said.
“Rio Tinto is 100% committed to the rapid completion of the trans-Guinean rail line. We are doing the work, we are making the commitments,” he said.
The comments come after Albanese first announced the plan to use trucks at a press conference on Wednesday, at which he said the proposal was aimed at ensuring the delivery of the first iron ore on time by 2015 to honour delivery contracts.
