The World Bank has urged Guinea to use the revenues from the exploitation of the largest iron-ore reserve on earth to diversify and build a stronger economy.
“The question we must ask ourselves is not just how much ore Guinea will export, but how many jobs, investments and new economic opportunities Simandou will help create,” World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa Ousmane Diagana said in Conakry, the capital, on Monday. “Simandou offers a historic opportunity and represents a potential economic turning point for Guinea,” he said.
Guinea shipped 6.8 million tons of iron-ore in the first half of this year from the Simandou mines, which began production in November.
Blocks 1 and 2 are controlled by Baowu Winning Consortium Simandou, backed by Chinese companies including China Baowu Steel Group. London-based Rio Tinto Plc and Aluminum Corp. of China, known as Chinalco own blocks 3 and 4. The Guinea government holds a 15% stake in each entity and another 15% stake in the company managing the rail and port infrastructure.
Mining is expected to lift Guinea’s economic growth to 8.7% this year and further to 9.3% next year from 6.7% in 2025, according to the International Monetary Fund. But unemployment and poverty remain a hurdle, estimated at 5.2% and 33% respectively in 2025 by the World Bank.
Diagana was speaking at the signing ceremony of a $320.8 million support, for investment in agriculture, energy and tax administration, under a $3-billion new country partnership with Guinea, spanning 2027–33.
The new pact coincides with the implementation of Guinea’s Simandou 2040 national development plan, which targets to invest $300-billion in various sectors by the end of the next decade.
“Simandou has entered production but the stakes go beyond merely exploiting a mineral resource,” Minister of Economy, Finance and Budget Mariama Ciré Sylla said. “The ambition is to transform this wealth into sustainable shared prosperity, by creating added value in Guinea, developing our production and processing capabilities, she said.