Anglo-Australian mining group Rio Tinto has held a meeting with the government of West African country Guinea to discuss the further development of the Simandou iron ore deposit.
During the meeting, the parties talked about expediting the Simandou project to 70 million mt per annum, about the work currently taking place on the project, and about regional development.
Rio Tinto and the Guinean government agreed to hold further discussions with a special inter-ministerial committee, which has been established to address issues of concern to both parties and to establish an aligned basis to move the project forward.
Rio Tinto has already spent $300 million on work to develop a long-life mine at Simandou, and expects to have spent over $400 million by the end of 2008. The project has created over 1,800 jobs in Guinea.