Glencore has expressed interest in iron deposits in Guinea,
although the company said it had not pitched for a stake in Simandou. Reuters
reports that Glencore is the latest mining major looking to invest in iron ore
assets in Guinea. Most interest is focused on Simandou, one of the biggest
deposits, however, any potential investors in Simandou are treading carefully.
Israeli-owned BSG Resources, which was stripped of its licence to develop part
of Simandou following a Guinean corruption investigation, is seeking
arbitration and has threatened to sue companies that invest in its former
licence area. Three sources close to the government said London-listed Glencore
had indicated its interest in investing in Simandou, in a meeting with
government officials in Conakry in June.
ArcelorMittal has, meanwhile, announced it had signed deals
to purchase stakes in an iron ore project in Guinea. According to an
Engineering News report, ArcelorMittal said that it would buy a 43.5% stake in
Euronimba from Billiton Guinea, a unit of BHP Billiton and a 13% stake from
Compagnie Francaise de Mines et Metaux, a unit of Areva.
Euronimba holds a 95%
indirect interest in the Mount Nimba iron ore project, a deposit with an
estimated 935m tonnes of direct shipped ore with an average grade of 63.1% of
iron. The site is about 40km from ArcelorMittal’s mine in Liberia. The company
should be able to use its Liberian railroad and port facilities, meaning that
its capital expenditure would be much lower than otherwise the case, CFO Aditya
Mittal said. He added that approval for exporting ore from Guinea to Liberia
was critical to the acquisition.
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