Conakry – Guinea’s junta has ordered a freeze on all activity at a vast iron ore deposit, saying work there, which is being led by foreign miners, should uphold the country’s “interests”.
The order was spelled out in a report late Thursday at a government meeting headed by junta leader Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, who seized power last year.
Doumbouya in December had asked for operations at the huge Simandou site in the southeast of the country to “take into account Guinea’s interests”, the report said.
ALSO READ | Party of ousted Guinea president names provisional new leader
“Unfortunately, as of this moment there has been no progress,” it said.
“He has therefore ordered the cessation of all activity on the site pending the answers to questions sent to the various parties and pending clarification of the operational mode in which the interests of Guinea will be preserved”.
There were no further details about his demands, and the organisations to whom they were made were not identified.
Guinea has stunning mineral wealth, including the world’s biggest untapped deposits of high-quality iron ore.
But the West African state but remains mired in poverty and saddled with a reputation for corruption.
Blocks 1 and 2 of the Simandou deposit were attributed to SMB, a consortium of Guinean and Asian companies. SMB has started building infrastructure for transporting the ore.
ALSO READ | West Africa bloc, UN ‘concerned’ about Guinea’s democratic transition
Blocks 3 and 4 were won by the Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto and China’s Chalco, and work there is still in the exploratory phase.
The Rio Tinto-Chalco deal was announced in May 2014 after years of wrangling.
Planned investment announced at the time amounted to $20 billion, which included a railway to carry iron ore from the Simandou mountain range to a deep-water port 650km (400 miles) away to export the ore.
No date was given for production to start, and the partners had to finalise a feasibility study within a year.
Doumbouya last September toppled Guinea’s president Alpha Conde, 84, following a wave of anger over his plans to secure a third presidential term.
Opponents accused Conde of manoeuvring to sidestep the constitution’s two-term presidency limits.
Doumbouya who was later declared interim president has promised to restore civilian rule after a transitional period, but has so far resisted international pressure to commit to a date.
He has vowed to make the fight against graft a key priority.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Source: AFP
Picture: Twitter / @michealtanchum
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
