Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) said Thursday that its Guinea subsidiary has formed an infrastructure joint venture with the government and the Chinese-backed Winning Consortium Simandou to co-develop the Simandou iron ore mine project, paving the way for work to resume on the world's largest undeveloped iron ore project.
The JV includes construction of a 600-km railway and port to export ore from the project, but the firms said they are still working out final details on cost estimates and funding.
Rio's (RIO) Simfer subsidiary and WCS each will hold 42.5% of the new company, and the government will own a 15% free carried stake in the JV.
Rio Tinto (RIO) has held rights to Simandou since 1997, owning a 45.05% stake in the southern half, Blocks 3 and 4, of the deposit, with Aluminum Corp. of China (ACH) holding 39.95% and Guinea's government the remaining 15%; Winning Consortium won the rights to Blocks 1 and 2 in 2019.
The news comes after the Guinea government ordered a halt to work at the project earlier this month, after Rio and WCS missed an extended deadline to agree on a joint venture.