[miningmx.com] – VALE’s stake in Guinea’s Simandou iron ore project would be protected by the government despite an investigation into the Brazilian firm’s partner, BSG Resources.
“In the case of Simandou 1 and 2, Vale already made an investment,’ Guinea president, Alpha Conde told Bloomberg News. “It’s out of the question to hurt Vale; at the same time, the law should be obeyed, so we’ll have to find a solution,’ he said.
Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz’s BSG Resources sold 51% percent of its stake in part of the Simandou area to Vale in 2010, in a deal valued at as much as $2.5bn.
The Guinea government is investigating how BSGR gained the mining rights after Rio Tinto was stripped of two of the four blocks of land in Simandou in 2008. A final government hearing into the matter will be held on December 10, Bloomberg News said.
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