Recently, the Simandou Win Alliance and China Baowu Iron and Steel Group officially completed the equity delivery of the world's largest undeveloped iron ore - Simandou project. This strategic cooperation will open a new chapter in the sustainable development of Guinea's mining industry.

On May 30th, the Guinean government approved China Baowu's investment in the Simandou project and issued a presidential decree for it. On June 19th, WCS and China Baowu immediately completed the establishment of the board of directors, appointment of directors and executives, and equity transfer of joint ventures related to mines, railways, and ports, and received Baowu's first investment, marking that China Baowu has officially become the shareholder of the Simandou project.

Wei Li International stated that under the leadership of Mr. Sun Xiushun, Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Simandou Win Alliance has completed more than half of the infrastructure construction work, and the project has made significant progress, attracting much attention. As a leader in the global steel industry, the joining of China Baowu has laid a solid foundation for both sides to jointly promote the Simandou project using their respective expertise and resources. WCS and China Baowu Generals are working together to complete the construction tasks on time and achieve the common goal of mine production as soon as possible.

According to reports, the Simandou iron ore project is expected to be delivered by the end of 2025 and exported in 2026. The Simandou Iron Mine is located in the southeast of Guinea and is the world's largest and highest quality undeveloped iron ore. It is divided into two major blocks, north and south, and initially has an annual production capacity of 120 million tons of high-quality iron ore.

The northern block of the Simandou Iron Mine Project consists of mining areas 1 and 2, with a total measured, indicated, and inferred resource reserve of over 1.8 billion tons, and an average iron content of approximately 65.5% in the ore. At present, the mining rights in the northern block are jointly held by the Winning Alliance composed of Singapore's Weili International Group and Shandong Weiqiao Aluminum Industry in China. The southern block consists of mining areas 3 and 4, with a measured, indicated, and inferred resource of approximately 2.8 billion tons, and an average iron grade of 65.5%. The southern block is developed and operated by Simfer, a joint venture between China Aluminum Iron Mine Holdings Limited and Rio Tinto Group.

To ensure the supply chain of China's steel industry, Baowu officially entered the development of this project in September 2022. In October 2023, China Baowu signed a shareholder agreement for a mining joint venture through Baowu Resources and Win Alliance, officially investing in the northern block project of Ximangdu Iron Mine, marking the substantive stage of project development.

According to previous reports from the maritime industry, in order to support the transportation of iron ore for the Simandou project, China Baowu has transformed from a non vessel operating carrier to a shipowner. The company's first cape type bulk carrier, the "Dongshan" ship, has been successfully put into operation.

In the perspective of the maritime industry, this delivery ensures that China Baowu will obtain stable and high-quality iron ore supply in the future, reducing its dependence on other countries and market fluctuations. Participating in important global resource projects gives China Baowu greater say and influence in the international iron ore market, which helps to gain a more favorable position in international mineral resource negotiations. Keywords: the Belt and Road news, the Belt and Road project, overseas project.

On the other hand, by controlling upstream resources, China Baowu can further integrate the steel industry chain, from ore mining to steel production, achieve synergistic effects in the industry chain, and improve production efficiency and competitiveness. At the same time, mastering upstream mineral resources can help reduce the impact of raw material cost fluctuations on enterprises, improve their cost control ability and profitability. (This article is from the official website of Jiandao: www.seetao. com. Reproduction without permission is not allowed, otherwise it will be punished. Please indicate Jiandao's website and the original link when reprinting.) Jiandao's mechanical column editor/Zhou Yingwen