{"id":1136877,"date":"2019-09-06T05:57:54","date_gmt":"2019-09-06T10:57:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/?p=1001291"},"modified":"2019-09-06T05:57:54","modified_gmt":"2019-09-06T10:57:54","slug":"billionaire-friedland-backed-miner-picks-up-iron-ore-deposit-in-guinea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/?p=1136877","title":{"rendered":"Billionaire Friedland-backed miner picks up iron ore deposit in Guinea"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Billionaire Robert Friedland-backed High Power Exploration (HPX)&nbsp;has <a href=\"https:\/\/hpxploration.com\/news\/2019\/high-power-exploration-acquires-the-world-class-nimba-iron-ore-deposit-in-the-republic-of-guinea\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">secured rights<\/a> to develop a massive iron ore deposit in Guinea left undeveloped for years by its previous owners.<\/p>\n<div class='d-flex justify-content-center'>\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0'><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0');});<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The US company, run by the Canadian mining icon, said the decision allowed it to buy a 95% stake in Nimba, owned until now by BHP, Newmont Mining and France\u2019s Orano.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>The Nimba iron ore deposit holds round 1 billion tonnes of iron ore.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Nimba, located on border with Liberia, is just one of the world\u2019s richest iron ore deposits found in Guinea, holding around 1 billion tonnes of the steelmaking ingredient.<\/p>\n<p>The West African country is also host to the fabled Simandou project, which Rio Tinto, Vale and billionaire Beny Steinmetz\u2019s BSG Resources\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/guinea-extends-deadline-to-bid-for-vacant-blocks-of-giant-simandou-iron-ore-deposit\/\" >fought over for years<\/a>. However, Guinea has never exported a tonne as it lacks infrastructure to transport the ore to local ports.<\/p>\n<p>Using a much shorter route through neighbouring Liberia would be cheaper and faster. The government, however, has repeatedly said ore should shipped <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/rio-tinto-looks-at-developing-simandou-again-report\/\" >via the country\u2019s own ports<\/a>. It has so far made an exception by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/former-xstrata-boss-mick-davis-mine-guineas-zogota-iron-ore-deposit\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">allowing Niron Metals\u2019s Zogota mine<\/a> to send production by rail to Liberia and ship from there. It is not clear whether HPX has secured a similar rail deal.<\/p>\n<p>The Vancouver-based firm plans to<br \/>\nproduce between 1 million to 5 million tonnes in a first phase, with a<br \/>\nview to increasing output to at least 20 million tonnes. Under the deal, Guinea\u2019s<br \/>\ngovernment will receive a 15% stake in Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 des Mines de Fer<br \/>\nde Guin\u00e9e (SMFG), the company that owns<br \/>\nNimba. The government will also get two seats on SMFG\u2019s board. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/guinea-iron-ore-projects.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1001295\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/guinea-iron-ore-projects.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/guinea-iron-ore-projects-300x203.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/guinea-iron-ore-projects-768x521.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><figcaption>Guinea has struggled for decades to extract money from its iron ore, which has been left undeveloped because of protracted legal disputes and the cost of infrastructure.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;With local procurement of goods and services, local recruitment and training of the workforce, the upgrading of transport routes and infrastructure, and the resulting economic multiplier effects, we anticipate that major social and economic benefits will flow from the Nimba mine,&#8221; HPX president Eric Finlayson said <a href=\"https:\/\/hpxploration.com\/news\/2019\/high-power-exploration-acquires-the-world-class-nimba-iron-ore-deposit-in-the-republic-of-guinea\/\">in a statement<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Friedland made his fortune from the Voisey\u2019s Bay nickel project in Canada in the 1990s. Since then, he has been involved in some of the biggest mineral discoveries in the world, including the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/friedland-confident-congo-copper-mine-will-worlds-second-largest\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">the Kamoa-Kakula project<\/a> in Democratic Republic of Congo. <\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/billionaire-friedland-backed-miner-picks-up-iron-ore-deposit-in-guinea\/\">Billionaire Friedland-backed miner picks up iron ore deposit in Guinea<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/\">MINING.COM<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HPX will take over stakes in Nimba previously owned by BHP , Newmont Goldcorp, and French nuclear group Orano.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/billionaire-friedland-backed-miner-picks-up-iron-ore-deposit-in-guinea\/\">Billionaire Friedland-backed miner picks up iron ore deposit in Guinea<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/\">MINING.COM<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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