By Mory Toundoufédouno, West Africa Editor, The African Gazette
Conakry, June 10, 2022- In the Republic of Guinea, the Executive Director of the national NGO Guinée Écologie, Mamadou Diawara, invites the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD) to get more involved in agreements relating to the exploration and mining of iron ore deposits from Mount Simandou, he said.
Reached by The African Gazette from Accra, the Ghanaian capital from where he’s representing his organization at a crucial summit on the environment, Director Diawara specified that the total cost of this project is estimated at 15 billion dollars. According to him, it is one of the most significant mining concessions in the world. Mr. Diawara also indicated that the implementation of such a contract will allow the construction of significant infrastructures which would necessarily have an impact on the environment. “We are first of all asking that the project promoters, namely Rio Tinto Simfer, an Anglo-Australian company, and Winning Consortium Simandou take environmental issues into account throughout the project cycle. Then, the monitoring committee of the agreement established between the Guinean State and the two promoters should include the Ministry of the Environment to ensure the compliance with environmental issues”, he underlined.
The Guinean Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development is the department in charge of developing and implementing government policy on the environment; it ensures the granting of “certificates of conformity through the Guinean Agency for Environmental Assessment (AGEE)” and the establishment of a legal framework for compliance of any activity carried out on Guinean soil.
Unfortunately, he stressed, given the current staffing of this monitoring committee, we observe that the State is only concerned with economic and political issues; the environment comes second. “This is why it is important for the Ministry of the Environment to be on this committee,” Guinée Écologie executive director added.
This project is expected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs for the population. It will allow the construction of railway infrastructures which will facilitate, in addition to the transportation of ore, a free movement of people and goods. Basic social infrastructure including health facilities, and schools are among other benefits that communities will gain from this project.
Rio Tinto has held rights to Simandou since 1997. It owns a 45.05% stake in the southern half, Blocks 3 and 4, of the deposit, with Chinalco holding 39.95% and Guinea’s government, the remaining 15%. SMB-Winning won a government tender in November 2019 for Blocks 1 and 2.
According to analysts, Mount Simandou contains approximately 8 billion tons of high-grade iron ore. Once it is fully up and running, Simandou is expected to produce 100 million tonnes of iron ore a year – with blocks 1 and 2 producing 60 million tonnes a year and Rio’s blocks producing 40 million a year.
Guinée Écologie, founded in 1989, is a Guinean non-governmental organization contributing to environmental protection and the sustainable management of natural resources. To do this, it conducts the study, research, conservation, and capacity-building actions. It also monitors and supports the Ministry of the Environment is implementing its agenda, at the same time guides investors in complying with good practices.