African Mining November 2019 | Page 35

COUNTRY IN FOCUS  E It was pointed out during the symposium that there was a need for the sector to follow a sustainable path capable of supporting the economic development of the nation. The Guinean government is interested in profi t sharing, employment, housing and educating the communities around mining operations. It was stressed that there was also a need to develop non-industrial infrastructure and other key sectors in the region, such as agriculture benefi tting from the newly constructed infrastructure. The government representatives hinted at restrictions in exploration and mining permitting, should the investment in the local communities not realise. arlier this year, Conakry hosted Guinea’s Symposium of Mines, where the opportunities and challenges were discussed to fulfi l the mining potential of the country, the need to improve infrastructure and attract foreign investment. Currently bauxite and gold mining account for about 13% of the country’s GDP. Despite its geological potential, Guinea is ranked 175th of 189 African countries by the Human Development Index. Guinean president Alpha Condé wanted to change the constitution to allow him to serve a third term as president. The UK’s Department of International Trade present at the symposium suggested that strong policy and governance frameworks, and clear human rights policies are an essential requirement of investors and capital markets throughout the mining life cycle. They also referred to multi-user agreements to help deliver opportunities for economic diversifi cation and growth that will endure post-closure of the mine. which is expected to be brought into production before 2021. In addition to the 450MW supplied at capacity, Souapiti will help regulate the water fl ow of the Konkouré river, allowing the nearby Kaléta dam to operate at full capacity. Designed to operate with Souapiti, Kaléta has only a small reservoir of its own and thus can only produce around 40MW of a total 240MW during the dry season. Attempts to improve infrastructure There is also work in progress to install fi bre optic networks to improve access to ICT. A modernised mining cadastre was launched in 2016 which provides real time information on mining licenses online. The renewed push to improve infrastructure in the country will not only serve the mining sector, but all the peripheral industries. The government is becoming more experienced in managing big ticket projects. These projects will, however, require global input and front-end planning from qualifi ed international practitioners. Earlier attempts to adopt a new mining code that would change the way mining companies operate, requiring them to pay more tax and protect the environment and the interests of communities around their mines, was revised after companies froze billions of dollars of investments in the country, and the government showed a willingness to relax the rules for favoured partners. Concerns have however been raised following hints that the president Alpha Condé wanted to change the constitution to allow him to serve a third term as president. Road map for growth A roadmap has been developed to accelerate the development of Guinea. The key points are to strengthen democracy, the establishment of major institutions, economic stability and to make Guinea accessible to foreign investment. The roadmap focuses on fl agship projects to strengthen business opportunities, for example, improving the country’s status on ‘Doing Business’ rankings and on the Mo Ibrahim Index. Guinea aims to signifi cantly increase electricity production. The fi rst step to reach this goal was the construction of the 240MW Kaléta hydroelectric facility on the Konkoure River in west central Guinea in 2015. Chinese state-owned China International Water & Electric Corporation (CIWEC) constructed the USD526-million scheme, which the company says has an average annual generating capacity of 965 million kWh. Other measures include work on the Souapiti Dam, investment in solar energy programmes and rehabilitation and modernisation of the transmission and electrical distribution network. A 450MW hydroelectric plant is being built by CIWEC at Souapiti, www. africanmining.co.za African Mining Publication Investment in mining The year 2019 has been eventful from a mine development perspective. In April, Russian company Nordgold increased its investment in the Lefa Mine. Since acquiring the mine in 2010, the company has spent in the order of USD1-billion and maintains its position as one of Guinea’s largest gold producers. The company has received a new 15-year permit, that is in line with the current expected life-of-mine. Predictive Discovery is currently undertaking multiple early-stage exploration programmes across its portfolio of 100%-owned Guinea projects with encouraging initial results so far from its Kankan and Nonta projects. The drop in iron ore production from South America, due to the Vale dam burst in Brazil and the cyclones aff ecting production in Australia, revitalised the interest in Guinea’s iron deposits. Rio Tinto announced in June that the company would renew work on the Simandou iron ore project, where it holds a 45.05% stake in blocks 3 and 4. The government launched international tenders for blocks 1 and 2, with the expression on interest process having been concluded in August of this year. This follows the conclusion of a protracted legal case with billionaire Beny Steinmetz's BSG Resources (BSGR), that opted to walk away from Simandou, but retain the rights to the Zogota deposit, where the ore will be exported via a Liberian route. The Simandou deposit is currently one of the largest untapped high-grade iron ore resources in the world. It contains over 2 billion tons of ore and has an expected life-of-mine in excess of 40 years. Most of the current work is focused around updating the current plans and a strategy on how to export the ore via the country’s own port, as this is a requirement set by the government. This would include the construction of a 650km- long trans-Guinea railway line from Simandou mine to the new African Mining African Mining  November 2019  33