“Following the release of information at a public meeting held in Guinea last week, Fortescue confirms that it is participating in the tender for Simandou Blocks 1 and 2. Details of Fortescue’s bid are confidential and there is no guarantee that any bid submitted will be successful,” Elizabeth Gaines, Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) chief executive officer, said this month.
The Simandou project, which has been mired in several issues over the past decade, boasts resources of around 2 billion tonnes of iron ore and has the potential to make Guinea the largest iron ore exporter in the world, a title currently held by Australia, where FMG’s operations are located.
The bid, however, also reiterates that demand for high-grade iron ore will form an integral part of the global steel industry in the coming years while environmental concerns for both producers of steel and producers of raw materials take center stage.
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