Rio Tinto To Invest Further $170M In Simandou Iron Ore

2nd Aug 2010 14:12

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Rio Tinto PLC (RIO.LN), a metal and mineral production company announced Monday it has advanced to the next stage of developing its Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, approving $170 million of further funding for mine, rail and port infrastructure work. MAIN FACTS: -The $170 million investment - which comes on top of the $650 million already spent on exploration, community development and evaluation studies - will take effect immediately, optimizing the design of the mine, mine infrastructure, rail system and port facilities, as well as enabling further work on drilling operations. -Rio Tinto welcomes a recent acknowledgement from the Prime Minister of Guinea that, in order to make the project economic, it may consider an export route through Liberia. -However, the current plan anticipates the construction of a mine at Simandou with an annual capacity of 95 million tons, a 650-kilometre dedicated industrial railroad passing through 21 kilometers of tunnels traversing Guinea to the coast, a rail car-dumping facility and a four-berth wharf located 11 kilometers offshore from Matakang. -The $170 million investment will include initial work on upgrading the national road, including access from Forecariah to the port site, building the construction wharf at the port and building project facilities in Forecariah, including offices and a logistics base. -Rio Tinto and Chalco are determined to progress the project rapidly and are working with all stakeholders to expedite the process. This will be done in consultation with the Guinean Government -Shares at 1310 GMT up 104 pence, or 3.19%, at 3410 pence. -By Zechariah Hemans, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9411; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires August 02, 2010 09:12 ET (13:12 GMT)