MINE EXCURSION
Guinea gears up
Meanwhile, in neighbouring Guinea -- a major producer of
bauxite – mining companies are gearing up to bring the
controversial Simandou iron ore project into production. The
greatest iron ore deposit on earth has been lying idol amidst
court cases, corruption charges and a depressed market.
The mining sector in the West African state, nonetheless, is
booming, and has prompted the establishment of a Central
Corridor, which entails a collaborative effort among mining
companies, agriculture, the government, regional communities
and other stakeholders to drive economic growth in the region
and in the country.
Guinea has the biggest bauxite and iron ore deposits in
the world, but the benefits have yet to trickle down to local
communities. Mining as a catalyst for regional development in
Guinea was the topic of a panel discussion at an event organised
by the UK Department of International Trade at Indaba.
The lack of efficient rail roads and big enough ports has been a
constraint for the mining industry in Guinea. Bauxite and iron ore
are both bulk materials and have to be shipped long distances by
road or rail from pit to port. With more than 400km of rainforest
between an iron ore deposit like Simandou and the ocean, it
becomes an extremely costly exercise to export raw materials.
Simandou has a chequered history and various battles have
been fought over the mining rights to this rich ore body. Global
giant Rio Tinto and mining mogul Benny Steinmetz have been
prominent at Simandou, and rumours about Rio Tinto exiting
Guinea continue to resurface.
However, in a strong statement at the Central Corridor
discussion, Lawrence Dechambenoit, Vice President of
Corporate Relations Europe, Middle East and Africa for Rio Tinto
said unequivocally that Rio Tinto will remain in the country
and that it is seeking ways to develop Block 3 and Block 4 at
Simandou. “We are working on a solution to develop Simandou.
We will not sell our share in Simandou. It is extremely difficult to
fund a project of this magnitude, and the main reason we still
haven’t developed a mine, is that we were not able to raise the
financing. Next year, when we sit here again, I hope to tell you
that we have found a solution to export ore from Simandou,” he
said. Rio Tinto also has bauxite interests in Guinea.
Meanwhile, Guinea Aluminium Corporation exported its first
shipment of bauxite from its mine in north west Guinea early
last year. The company hopes to produce at a rate of 12 million
tonnes per year. Furthermore, the government has organised
a late 2019 bidding round for Simandou’s Block 1 and Block 2,
where activities have been on ice for close on ten years. The
Singaporean-Guinean Société Minière de Boké won the rights to
the 369km 2 concession.
www. africanmining.co.za
African Mining Publication
The Angolan Minister of Mineral Resources, Diamantino Azevedo,
reiterated his government’s commitment to get rid of corruption in its
bid to lure foreign exploration companies to the country.
Angola opens the floodgates
Angola is another country that has made great progress in
opening its doors to foreign investment. Recent reforms
by Angolan president, João Lourenço, has hit a chord with
investors, with a lot of interest shown at the country’s
presentation in the Westlin Ballroom across the road from the
Cape Town International Conference Centre on day two of
the Indaba.
João Lourenço started cleaning up government as soon as he
was appointed president a little more than two years ago. One
of his aims was to diversify the economy and focus specifically
on the minerals and mining sector. Angola is extremely rich in
mineral resources, but the State of Angola controlled all land and
mining operations before Lourenço came into power. However,
the country is in the process of selling off state assets and up to
now has privatised 195 government-owned companies. This, of
course, has opened the floodgates, and exploration companies
are flocking to Angola to secure their claims.
The Angolan Minister of Mineral Resources, Diamantino
Azevedo, reiterated his government’s commitment to get rid
of corruption in its bid to lure foreign exploration companies
to the country. “We are committed to fighting corruption and
transparency is the new ethos,” he said at the presentation
at Indaba. Azevedo called on especially African plant and
equipment suppliers to set up shop in Angola, as there are many
great opportunities.
The Angolan government recently put out tenders for a number
of iron ore, phosphate and diamond projects and received 17
proposals from across the globe. Last year, Anglo American
announced that it has taken up five exploration licenses for
copper, cobalt, nickel and silver in Angola.
This year, there was a big delegation of African mining ministers
at Indaba. This indicates the importance of mining to the growth
of these countries. Technology and improved infrastructure have
made it easier for exploration companies to operate in remote
areas. This is good news for countries like Sierra Leone and
Guinea, for example, where inaccessibility and a lack of a proper
understanding of the geology has limited the mining industry in
that troubled part of the world.
Hopefully, more and more good deposits are discovered in
Africa, and Mining Indaba becomes even more Africa focused,
with thousands of competitors trying to entice foreign investors,
and all 54 Ministers telling delegates about how investor-
friendly their countries have become. Wouldn’t Minister
Mantashe just love that?
African Mining
African Mining March 2020
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