Rio Tinto To Invest $170M In Next Stage Of Simandou Project

2nd Aug 2010 15:36

By Alex MacDonald Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto PLC (RTP) Monday said it had approved $170 million to further fund the construction of the rail and port infrastructure related to its flagship Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. The investment marks the next stage in the development of the project and will be used to upgrade the national road, including access from Forecariah in inland Guinea, to the Matakang port site. It will also fund the construction of a wharf at the port and construction of project facilities in Forecariah, including offices and a logistics base. "Simandou will be the largest integrated iron ore mine and infrastructure project ever developed in Africa," the Chief Executive of Rio Tinto's iron ore division, Sam Walsh, said in a statement. The Simandou iron ore project is located in south-eastern Guinea and expected to start operating in five years. The mine is slated to produce 95 million metric tons of iron ore annually when at full capacity. Iron ore from Simandou will be transported via 650 kilometers of rail to a four-berth wharf located 11 kilometers offshore from Matakang for export. The current mine, rail and port plan would create more than 4,000 permanent full-time jobs once built. The most direct route to ship the iron ore, however, would involve sending the ore by rail through Liberia to be exported out of a Liberian port. Rio Tinto said it welcomed a recent acknowledgment from the Prime Minister of Guinea that, in order to make the project economic, it may consider an export route through Liberia. Company Website: http://www.riotinto.com -By Alex MacDonald, Dow Jones Newswires; 44 20 7842 9328; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires August 02, 2010 10:36 ET (14:36 GMT)