AUSTRALIA’S Fortesque Metals Group confirmed it had been edged out of the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea after the west African country’s government preferred a $14bn bid by a consortium consisting of French, Singaporean and Chinese interests.
Reuters cited sources saying Fortesque Metals had not formally committed itself to developing some of the infrastructure required to win the right to develop part of Simandou. Guinea’s government required bidders to build a 650km railway and deepwater port to transport the ore from the country’s remote southeastern corner to the coast for export, deterring some miners from bidding, said Reuters.
The winning consortium includes Société Minière de Boké (SMB) as well as Singapore’s Winning Shipping and Guinean government interests. It committed to develop blocks 1 and 2 of the largest known deposit of its kind, holding more than 2 billion tons of high-grade iron ore, said the newswire.
“The Simandou Project will be crucial for Guinea’s future. This mega deposit is an opportunity in terms of employment and wealth creation for the whole country,” said Sun Xiushun, the consortium’s CEO.
Fortescue had offered $9bn for the blocks but did not formally promise to build the railway dubbed the ‘Transguinéen’. Transguinéen was pivotal in the decision to grant the blocks to SMB-Winning, mines minister Abdoulaye Magassouba told Reuters.
Fortescue said it would focus on its $3.88bn investment in the Eliwana and Iron Bridge projects in the Pilbara area of northwestern Australia.
