Overview
- Authorities opened production on November 11 at the Morebaya port, where the first shipment was flagged, as junta leader Mamady Doumbouya declared a public holiday ahead of December elections.
- The project’s four blocks are split between Winning Consortium Simandou and SimFer, a Rio Tinto–Chinalco venture, alongside China Baowu and the Guinean state.
- Industrial partners have invested roughly $20–23 billion in more than 600 kilometres of railway and a new deep-water port, creating several thousand direct jobs.
- Xinhua described the venture as 75% Chinese-owned, with Vice‑Premier Liu Guozhong attending the commissioning, and most volumes are expected to head to China.
- Analysts expect Simandou to supply about 7% of seaborne iron ore at full scale, pressuring prices even as low‑cost Pilbara miners retain an edge, while SCMP reported Guinea returned 18 Chinese-built locomotives in September over procurement terms.