Simandou II

completed

The project refers to the exploration, evaluation of high grade iron ore resources within a 110 km long Mining Concession (MC) that covers the Simandou mountain range in south eastern Guinea. The Mining Convention covering the Concession area is held by a locally incorporated Rio Tinto subsidiary, SIMFER S.A. The proposed IFC investment is the acquisition of a 5% stake in SIMFER S.A. and future contributions to equity cash calls until completion of a Feasibility Study for any of the exploration targets in the Simandou Range. In addition to the equity investment, IFC will have call options to acquire 5% stakes in potential iron ore resources in other Rio Tinto Iron Ore (RTIO) Exploration Licences in Guinea, applied for but not yet granted, namely Simandou North, Simandou South, Forécariah and Diéké (the Additional License Areas). RTIO, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto Holdings plc., has undertaken extensive iron ore exploration work in Guinea since 1996. Most of the exploration activities were concentrated at the Pic de Fon area within a 7.5 km stretch of the 110 km long Simandou Range. The current exploration program includes 13 different targets spread out within the approximately 740 km2 Mining Concession, of which the southern zone, namely Pic de Fon and Oueleba are the most advanced. The Pic de Fon - Oueleba prospects have progressed from a pure exploration phase to a “Pre-Feasibility Study” (PFS) phase as of April this year. The PFS and continuing exploration on other targets within the MC have the potential of identifying sufficient high grade resources to support a 70 mtpa mining operation with a mine life of 30 years plus. During the PFS stage, Rio Tinto will study various mine and infrastructure solutions for the scope identified above, including approximately 710 kms of railroad to transport the iron ore to the coast of Guinea and the construction of a deep water port south of Conakry.