Brazilian miner
Vale has announced that the Republic of
Guinea has revoked the
mining licenses for the Simandou and Zogota
iron ore projects due to a technical committee report indicating that the
mining licenses were obtained by
Vale's partner BSG Resources Limited (BSGR) through corrupt practices.
The committee in question did not find any involvement by
Vale in the fraudulent conduct relating to the acquisition of the
mining licenses, which occurred more than one year before
Vale made any investment in the joint venture between
Vale and BSGR, and recommended that the Guinean government adopt measures to exclude BSGR and BSGR's affiliates from the reallocation of the
mining titles, but did not suggest that
Vale be prohibited from participating in any such process.
In April 2010,
Vale acquired from BSG Resources Ltd (BSGR) a 51 percent interest in BSG Resources (
Guinea) Ltd, which indirectly holds
iron ore concession rights in Zogota.