Government of Guinea, Winning Consortium Simandou and Rio Tinto Simfer incorporate La Compagnie du TransGuinéen (CTG) to co-develop the rail and port infrastructure for the Simandou iron ore project
July 27 2022 - 7:55PM
Business Wire
- Joint venture company incorporated in line with Framework
Agreement signed on March 25, 2022, to facilitate investment
decisions for co-financing and co-development of Simandou project
infrastructures
- Partners have committed to internationally recognised ESG
standards
The government of the Republic of Guinea, Winning Consortium
Simandou (WCS) and Rio Tinto Simfer today incorporated the La
Compagnie du TransGuinéen (The TransGuinean Company) to further
progress plans to co-develop the multi-purpose and multi-user
infrastructure for the Simandou iron ore project.
The joint venture incorporation is a significant milestone in
implementation of the framework agreement signed among the parties
on 25 March 2022. It has been fully registered and established in
Guinea and is intended, following negotiation of definitive
tripartite entity arrangements, the company will be the central
structure for the co-development of the rail and the port
components of the Simandou iron ore development project.
Following the incorporation of the joint venture, the parties
will now work on next steps including shareholding agreement,
finalising cost estimates and funding, and securing all necessary
approvals and other permits and agreements required to progress the
co-development of infrastructures.
WCS and Rio Tinto Simfer are committed to co-develop the rail
and port infrastructures in line with internationally recognised
environmental, social and governance standards. This milestone
paves the way to progress the shareholder agreement, and secure
necessary financing to construct a strategic corridor with more
than 600 kilometres of rail infrastructures extending from south to
south-west of the Republic of Guinea, as well as port
infrastructure in the Forécariah prefecture in Maritime Guinea.
The infrastructure constitutes the backbone of the Simandou
project, that presents a significant opportunity for the economic
growth of the Republic of Guinea, in addition to the mining
activities it will support.
Sun Xiushun, Chairman of the Winning Consortium said: “We are
extremely grateful to our joint venture partners, the Guinean
government and Rio Tinto Simfer for the spirit of cooperation they
have shown in achieving this major milestone. The creation of La
Compagnie du TransGuinéen is a positive step and builds a solid
foundation for the realisation of the Simandou project. More
importantly, it shows that WCS respects its commitments in a
concrete way: to build and develop Guinea, and to significantly
contribute to strengthening the country’s economy. WCS welcomes
today's signing and thanks all its partners on the ground,
particularly our Guinean employees and surrounding communities
without whom all this would not have been possible."
Rio Tinto Executive Committee member in charge of the Simandou
project and Copper Chief Executive Bold Baatar said: “The
incorporation of La Compagnie du TransGuinéen with our partners
underscores the importance of the Simandou resource in today's
decarbonising world, and its development will complement Rio
Tinto's strong iron ore portfolio. It is also a very important
moment for Guinea and for Guineans, for whom the project's southern
infrastructure corridor has the potential to bring significant
benefits for regional economic development by leveraging
international project and ESG standards. We are most grateful to
the government of Guinea and WCS for their collaboration and look
forward to making the promise of Simandou a reality”.
Djiba Diakité, Chairman of the Strategic Committee of the
Simandou project and Minister Director of the Office of the
Presidency of the Republic, said: “Under the leadership of the Head
of State, Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, the Republic of Guinea
reassures the partners, and the world of its firm will to develop
the Simandou project in the best interests of the people of Guinea,
and all partners. Guinea's mineral resources belong without
exception to all of its daughters and sons and therefore nothing
will be done to their detriment. Our country remains open to all
responsible and serious mining investment that will help support
the sustainable development of our economy and, in turn, is
committed to maintaining a stable and calm business climate.”
WCS and Rio Tinto Simfer, the holders of blocks 1-2 and 3-4
respectively, are fully engaged with all stakeholders at national
and local level to transform the iron ore potential of the Simandou
mountain range into a sustainable source of wealth for the people
of Guinea for generations to come.
Notes to editors:
- Shareholding of La Compagnie du TransGuinéen will be split
between development partners Simfer Jersey Ltd. and WCS each
receiving a 42.5% equity share and the Government of Guinea taking
a 15% free carry equity stake
- WCS is a consortium of Singaporean company, Winning
International Group (45%), Weiqiao Aluminium (part of the China
Hongqiao Group) (35%) and United Mining Suppliers International
(20%). WCS is the holder of Simandou North block 1-2 (with the
Government of Guinea holding a 15% interest in the mining vehicle
and WCS holding 85%) and associated infrastructure.
- The Simfer joint venture comprises Simfer S.A., the holder of
Simandou South Blocks 3 & 4, which is owned by the Government
of Guinea (15%) and Simfer Jersey Limited (85%). In turn, Simfer
Jersey Limited, is a joint venture between the Rio Tinto Group
(53%) and Chalco Iron Ore Holdings (CIOH) (47%) – a Chinalco-led
joint venture of leading Chinese SOEs (Chinalco (75%), Baowu (20%),
China Rail Construction Corporation (CRCC) (2.5%) and China Harbour
Engineering Company (CHEC) (2.5%).
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