The completion of Guinea's giant Simandou mine would help China diversify its iron ore supply and decarbonize its steel industry, but the project could be derailed by political instability in the West African country. On June 20, China's Baowu Steel confirmed its purchase of an undisclosed stake in the Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS), which manages two of the four blocks of Guinea's $20 billion Simandou iron ore mine, Africa's largest mining project that sits atop the world's largest untapped reserves of high-grade iron ore. This came after Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto approved a $6.2 billion investment in the project in February. As part of negotiations with Guinea authorities, project participants agreed to invest in the construction of a new deepwater port in the locality of Morebaya, situated to the south of the Guinean capital of Conakry, as well as two railway sections totaling over 620 kilometers that will connect...
