China Railways Materials Commercial Corp African Mining Co. has announced that the annual output rate of the Tonkolili iron ore project located in Sierra Leone, West Africa has reached 20 million mt.
On May 2, the No. 2 iron ore unloading facilities of the Tonkolili project were officially put into operation, increasing the operating efficiency of the project. From May 18 to June 18 this year, 10 freighters carrying a total volume of 1.7 million mt iron ore produced by the Tonkolili iron ore project left port, giving an annualized output and shipping rate of 20.4 million mt.
In 2010, London-headquartered miner African Minerals, owner of the Tonkolili iron ore deposit in Sierra Leone, and China Railway Materials Commercial Corporation (CRM) had entered into a definitive agreement for the acquisition of a 12.5 percent stake in African Minerals by CRM.
The Tonkolili iron ore project officially began to supply iron ore to the Chinese market at the end of 2011.