Guinea approves SMB-Winning deal for Simandou iron mine project

Guinea’s government approved on Thursday a basic agreement for the development of its giant Simandou iron ore project by a consortium representing Chinese, French and Singaporean interests, the mines minister told Reuters.

The consortium – which includes Société Minière de Boké (SMB) and Singapore’s Winning Shipping as well as Guinean government interests – won a $14-billion tender last November to develop blocks 1 and 2 of the largest known deposit of its kind, holding more than 2-billion tonnes of high-grade ore.