OREANDA-NEWS. Senior representatives of the Simandou South Project submitted on 14 December the first draft of the development plan for the Simandou mine to the Government of Guinea. Version 1 of the Mine Bankable Feasibility Study Report (Mine BFS) is based on submissions by leading international contractors and outlines the initial capital cost, construction schedule and sales and marketing opportunities for the Simandou mine.

Alan DAVIES, Rio Tinto Chief Executive of Diamonds & Minerals, and BAO Yu, President of Chinalco Iron Ore Holdings (CIOH), presented version 1 of the Mine BFS to the Government of Guinea on behalf of the four project shareholders, which include: the Government of Guinea, Rio Tinto, a consortium of Chinese investors (CIOH) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

In addition, they represented the shareholders at the inauguration of His Excellency Professor Alpha Cond? for his second term as President of the Republic of Guinea.

Alan Davies said, “I take great pleasure being here today to deliver the first draft of the development plan for the Simandou mine to the Government of Guinea. This is a significant milestone and has been delivered as per the agreed target date. I am also very honoured to have attended His Excellency Alpha Cond?’s inauguration as President”.
Bao Yu said, "It is a great pleasure to have the milestones for the completion of the BFS confirmed by the project partners, who have taken all possible measures to achieve the goals. In order to ensure a high-quality BFS is delivered in May 2016, the partners will continue to review performance against their respective obligations on a monthly basis."

Chinese construction contractors CHEC and CRCC are undertaking Version 1 of the Infrastructure BFS, which will be delivered to the Government of Guinea by the end of December 2015. The Infrastructure BFS outlines the initial capital cost and construction schedule for the development of the rail and port elements of the project.

A final version of the BFS for the Simandou South project will be submitted in May 2016, alongside the delivery of the State’s Enabling Activities (SEAs). The SEAs are the State’s pre-construction commitments to support project development and include: tax and customs; permitting; foreign worker visas; community resettlement; local content, industrial relations, and; security.

Delivery of both the BFS and SEAs are essential catalysts required for Infrastructure Consortium formation and project funding.

About the Simandou South Project

Simandou South is a world-class iron ore mining development located in the south-east of Guinea. The Simandou South Project partners include the Republic of Guinea (7.5%), Rio Tinto (47%), Aluminum Corporation of China (“Chinalco”) (41%) and the International Finance Corporation (“IFC”) (4.6%), a member of the World Bank Group. The Project will be the largest combined iron ore mine and infrastructure project ever developed in Africa, with the potential to transform the Guinean economy and transport infrastructure. The project comprises three principal components:

• A high-grade iron ore mine (blocks 3 and 4) of 100 million tons per year at full production;
• A new multi-user railway to transport iron ore to the Guinean coast;
• A new deep-water multi-user port in the Forécariah prefecture.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and New York Stock Exchange listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, thermal and metallurgical coal, uranium, gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide and salt) and iron ore. Activities span the world and are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in Asia, Europe, Africa and South America.

About Chinalco

Aluminum Corporation of China (“Chinalco”) is a key state-owned enterprise directly supervised by the central government. It is an international diversified mineral resources company and one of the largest diversified metals and mining companies in China. Chinalco is an industry leader in processing nonferrous minerals. It conducts exploration and mining, processes various mineral resources including bauxite, copper and other metals, and provides engineering and technical services to the mining industry. Headquartered in Beijing, Chinalco and its subsidiaries have operations in 22 provinces in China and 15 overseas offices in 10 countries and regions.

About IFC

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our capital, expertise, and influence, to create opportunity where it’s needed most. In FY15, our long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $18 billion, helping the private sector play an essential role in the global effort to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity.