\n The rivalry is playing out in south-eastern Guinea, home to some of the world\u2019s richest iron ore reserves, at a time when African governments are seeking to extract greater value from long-delayed mining projects amid rising global demand for steelmaking inputs.\n <\/p>\n
Simandou Ships First Ore to China<\/p>\n
Kon Kweni Emerges as a Rival Project<\/p>\n
\n Roughly 160 kilometres from Simandou, a new iron ore deposit known as Kon Kweni has been identified in the forested Nimba mountains of south-east Guinea. According to Financial Review, the reserve is operated by the US company Ivanhoe Atlantic.\n <\/p>\n
\n The project has emerged as a potential alternative to the China-led Simandou mine, which has been central to Beijing\u2019s strategy for securing critical resources across Africa.\n <\/p>\n
\n Ivanhoe Atlantic, founded by American-Canadian mining billionaire Robert Friedland, has positioned its mine and rail project as a Donald Trump-endorsed alternative to Simandou, pledging to deliver high-grade iron ore into Western supply chains.\n <\/p>\n
\n Bronwyn Barnes, president and chief executive of Ivanhoe Atlantic, said the $1.8 billion project, branded the \u201cLiberty Corridor\u201d would \u201chelp counter China\u2019s tightening grip over critical minerals\u201d.\n <\/p>\n
Bypassing Chinese Infrastructure<\/p>\n
\n Ivanhoe has said it intends to transport the ore at 66.5 per cent purity, among the world\u2019s finest, through neighbouring Liberia to avoid using the recently built 600 kilometre Chinese railway connecting Simandou to mainly Chinese mills via a Guinean port.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cEvery tonne we produce is reserved exclusively for US and allied supply chains,\u201d Barnes said. \u201cNone will go to China.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Implications for Africa\u2019s Mining Sector<\/p>\n
\n As Africa enters a new phase of strategic competition, the United States and China are both seeking access to the continent\u2019s critical minerals and rare earth elements, which are vital for global technological development.\n <\/p>\n
\n While China has built a strong foothold across the region, American companies are reorganizing to navigate the complexities of commercial mining in this rapidly evolving environment.\n <\/p>\n
\n Peter Mallin-Jones, a mining analyst, noted that long-term projects such as Ivanhoe\u2019s are particularly sensitive to shifts in global investment patterns.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe US is really on the back foot in Africa, given the Chinese have invested in mines and infrastructure there over the last 15 years,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n
\n Even with projects like the Lobito Corridor, which links copper-producing regions in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to Angola\u2019s Atlantic coast, America remains far behind China in establishing a strong presence in Africa\u2019s mining sector.\n <\/p>\n
\n Amid these dynamics, African leaders have learned to manage relationships with multiple international partners, ensuring that resource agreements deliver the greatest benefits for their countries.\n <\/p>\n
\n Nevertheless, Ivanhoe reports it is on track to begin shipping ore in the first half of 2027, following Liberia\u2019s lower house ratification of an agreement allowing the company to use a railway currently reserved for Luxembourg steelmaker ArcelorMittal.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The rivalry is playing out in south-eastern Guinea, home to some of the world\u2019s richest iron ore reserves,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":353464,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[45,49,48,46],"class_list":{"0":"post-353463","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-economy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/353464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}