According to Reuters, Chinese steel producer Baowu Resources has taken control of the operator of Guinea's blocks 1 and 2 Simandou, increasing its stake in the winning consortium Simandou to 51 percent from 49 percent.
Reuters reported that following the deal, the Singapore-registered parent company and its Guinean division were renamed Baowu Winning Consortium Simandou (BWCS).
In southern blocks 3 and 4 of Simandou, Chinese state-owned groups own stakes through a joint venture led by Chinalco, together with Rio Tinto and the State of Guinea as part of the Simfer partnership.
Baowu said the deal confirms its long-term industrial and strategic commitment to "one of the world's most significant integrated mining and infrastructure projects." The company added that it will strive for the competitiveness of the project, promote local content and comply with internationally recognized ESG standards.
At full operational capacity, Simandou's two mining hubs are designed to ship up to 120 million metric tons of high-quality iron ore per year through the shared rail and port infrastructure of the Atlantic Ocean. After the full expansion of the project, Guinea is expected to become a key global supplier of iron ore along with Australia and Brazil.
