November 11 is a Tuesday, and the West African country Guinea has decided to close the day without pay. The day is the much-anticipated commissioning of the Simandou iron ore in Guinea.

The Simandou iron ore deposit is the largest and highest-quality undeveloped iron ore deposit in the world, with an initial iron ore production capacity of 12 million tons per year, which will reshape the global iron ore supply pattern after its commissioning.

Chinese companies such as China Aluminum and China Baowu participated in the development of the Simandou iron mine. previously, according to a report from Xinhua News Agency, Liu Guozhong, Vice Premier, will attend the commissioning ceremony of the Simandou iron mine project on November 11th as a special representative of President Xi Jinping, at the invitation of Guinean President Alpha Conde.

Reshaping the global iron ore supply pattern

Guinea is the least developed country, but it is rich in natural resources, known as the "geological wonder", with large reserves of bauxite and iron ore, and its proven reserves of bauxite rank first in the world.

South Africa Iron Mine Project SiteThe proven iron ore reserves in Simandou are about 4.4 billion tons, with a total estimated amount of 5 billion tons. The iron ore in Simandou has a high grade of up to about 66%, far higher than the average grade of the world's major iron mines. High-grade iron ore means higher smelting efficiency, and less coking coal is consumed to produce a unit of steel, which can better meet the urgent needs of steel companies to reduce emissions.

In 1997, the Rio Tinto Group discovered the Simandou iron ore in the southern part of Guinea's Kankan region, but its development has been delayed and postponed to this day.

At present, Australia and Brazil are the two major iron ore exporting countries in the world. The production of iron ore is mainly controlled by several multinational companies, including Rio Tinto, which is headquartered in the UK and Australia, BHP Billiton from Australia, and Vale from Brazil. China is the world's largest iron ore importer, and its import volume accounted for approximately 72% of the global total in 2024.

Li Xiaoyu, an assistant researcher at the Institute of Developing Countries of the China Institute of International Studies, told a reporter from the Beijing Daily app that after the Simandou Iron Mine goes into production, Guinea is expected to become the world's third-largest iron ore supplier after Australia and Brazil, thus changing the global iron ore supply and price structure and breaking the monopoly pattern.

China's Aluminum Corporation signed a joint development agreement for the Simandou project in 2010 with Rio Tinto. Zhou Yu Yan, from the Africa Institute of the Modern International Relations Research Academy of China, said the biggest challenge to the implementation of the Simandou project is infrastructure construction, which requires building railways and supporting ports through natural obstacles such as tropical rainforests, mountains, and earthquake belts. In 2019, the Guinean government took back the mining rights and re-tendered. After winning the bid, Chinese companies completed the delayed construction period of the northern block of Simandou in just 6 months, built the modern railway and the Ma瑞ba ya port with an annual throughput of 120 million tons. China's infrastructure advantage has provided a strong guarantee for the smooth implementation of the Simandou project, which has been recognized by the Guinean government.

Ensuring the security of China's steel supply chain

The Guinean government stated that the strategic partnership of the Simandou iron mine is historically significant and will greatly promote sustainable and inclusive development in Guinea, injecting hope into the future of the entire country.

Guinea's economic growth is heavily dependent on mining, which accounts for about 35% of the country's GDP, but at present, Guinea's mining revenue mainly comes from bauxite.

The Masi Railway connecting the Simandou iron mine and the Port of Maramba"The commissioning of Simandou will change the economic structure of Guinea, which relies on a single resource." Zhou Yuyan listed to the Beijing Daily reporter that the Guinean Ministry of Mining expects that the annual production of 120 million tons of Simandou iron ore will make Guinea one of the world's major iron ore producing and exporting countries, double the GDP, create tens of thousands of jobs, and form an economic corridor around the railway and port, driving social and economic development.

Before the production of the Simandou iron mine, Guinea's rich mineral deposits have already had a substantive impact on the global mining landscape. Since 2017, Guinea has replaced Australia as the world's largest alumina exporter, accounting for 55% of China's alumina imports.

From October 7th to 8th this year, when the new Chinese Ambassador to Guinea, Sun Yong, inspected the Simandou iron mine project, he stated that the Simandou project is a landmark project in China-Guinea mining cooperation, with a large investment scale and high construction difficulty. It is of great significance for promoting the economic and social development of Guinea and enhancing the traditional friendship between the two countries.

Li Xiaoyu said that the production of the Simandou iron mine will strengthen the security of China's steel raw material supply chain. As a steel power, China's high dependence on iron ore imports from Australia and Brazil poses supply chain risks. The production of Simandou will achieve diversification of China's iron ore imports, reduce dependence, and enhance the raw material security and price discourse power of China's steel industry chain.

In September 2021, a military coup in Guinea overthrew President Conté, who was in power at the time, and a transitional government led by Doumbia took over. On September 27 this year, Doumbia announced that a presidential election would be held on December 28.

In recent years, coups have occurred successively in several West African countries, such as Guinea, Niger and Burkina Faso. The West African region has shown a clear trend of pursuing autonomy and development, "de-Westernization", Li Xiaoyu said. After coming to power, Dramane Yumkoua implemented a pragmatic foreign economic policy, emphasizing the balance between resource development and national economic autonomy, which provides a larger space for mutually beneficial and strategic cooperation between China and Africa, China and Guinea.

Guinea established diplomatic relations with China in 1959 and was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. During the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in September 2024, among nearly 50 African heads of state and government attending the meeting, Doumbouya was one of the first leaders to hold high-level meetings with the Chinese side. During the meeting, both sides clearly prioritized strengthening cooperation in infrastructure and mining.

"The West African region is endowed with abundant resources, which are significant for the regional economy and global markets. The decline in investment from Western countries and the increased cooperation with West African nations by China present numerous opportunities." Zhou Yuyan said that the current spread of terrorism and political turmoil have also made the security situation in West Africa extremely complex. While cooperating with West African countries, the Chinese side should also closely monitor the regional situation and strengthen the assessment of security risks.

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