Simandou explained: the programme in 2026

A high-grade iron ore deposit in south-eastern Guinea

The Simandou range in south-eastern Guinea holds one of the world’s largest untapped high-grade iron ore deposits. Identified in the 1990s, it grades above 65% iron on average, according to a history published by Mining Indaba in November 2025. That quality matters to steelmakers: richer ore cuts energy use and the carbon intensity of steel production, as Rio Tinto points out on its operation page.

For the southern part alone (blocks 3 and 4), Rio Tinto reports around 1.5 billion tonnes of ore reserves: 0.2 billion tonnes proved at 66.4% Fe and 1.3 billion tonnes probable at 65.0% Fe. The deposit lies in the prefectures of Beyla and Kérouané, more than 600 km from the coast, which explains the scale of the infrastructure required.

The project went through almost three decades of twists: permit withdrawals, the split of the deposit into two packages and disputes between 2008 and 2014, then shareholder realignment and financing between 2020 and 2022, before construction accelerated in 2023-2024 (Mining Indaba, 2025).

Two mining packages, different partners

The deposit is divided into four blocks, developed by two separate groups that share a single rail and port corridor.

• Blocks 1 and 2 (Simandou North): Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS). According to Rio Tinto (November 2025), WCS is 51% held by Winning International Group and Weiqiao Aluminium and 49% by Baowu Resources, part of Chinese steelmaker China Baowu. The Guinean State holds 15% of the mining vehicle.
• Blocks 3 and 4 (Simandou South): SimFer S.A., 15% held by the Guinean State and 85% by Simfer Jersey, which is itself 53% Rio Tinto and 47% Chalco Iron Ore Holdings (CIOH).
• CIOH brings together Chinalco (75%), Baowu (20%), China Rail Construction Corporation (2.5%) and China Harbour Engineering Company (2.5%), according to Rio Tinto.

The shared infrastructure belongs to the Compagnie du TransGuinéen (CTG), held 42.5% by SimFer, 42.5% by WCS and 15% by the Guinean State on a free-carried basis. In July 2024 Rio Tinto put the total cost of the SimFer scope at US$11.6 billion, of which US$6.2 billion is its own share. Total investment across mines and infrastructure is estimated at US$20–23 billion, according to Mining Indaba.

The TransGuinéen railway and Morebaya port

The logistical backbone is a multi-use railway of roughly 622 km: a 536 km dual-track main line built by WCS, a 70 km spur to the SimFer mine and a 16 km spur to the WCS mine (Rio Tinto, July 2024). It links the mining areas of Beyla and Kérouané to the coast.

The export outlet sits on the estuary of the Morebaya river, in Forécariah prefecture, south-east of Conakry. People often speak of “Morebaya port”, but there are in fact two neighbouring facilities of 60 million tonnes a year each: a barge port for WCS and a transhipment vessel (TSV) terminal for SimFer. Ore is loaded onto barges or transhipment vessels and transferred at sea to large bulk carriers.

Timeline: from launch to first cargoes

Rio Tinto announced on 16 July 2024 that all conditions for its investment had been satisfied. Operations were formally celebrated on 11 November 2025 at a ceremony held at the port in Forécariah prefecture.

The first loaded bulk carrier, the Winning Youth, left Morebaya on 2 December 2025, about three weeks after the ceremonial start of barge loading (GMK Center). It docked on 17 January 2026 at Majishan port in China’s Zhejiang province with close to 200,000 tonnes on board, after a 46-day voyage (Ecofin). Rio Tinto dates SimFer’s first shipment to December 2025.

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Ramp-up: where things stand in autumn 2026

Each mine targets 60 million tonnes a year, 120 Mt in total. Rio Tinto plans a ramp-up of about 30 months for SimFer, whose share for the group is 27 Mt a year at full capacity. For 2026, Rio Tinto guides 5 to 10 Mt of SimFer sales (100% basis), with a two-to-three-month lag between mine-gate production and sales.

• Rail: fully commissioned in the first quarter of 2026 (Rio Tinto, July 2026).
• SimFer: 1.6 Mt shipped to China in Q2 2026 and 2.2 Mt in the first half; mine construction 77% complete and port 85% (SimFer release, 6 August 2026).
• Port: staged commissioning of stockyards, stacker-reclaimers and shiploaders, with full commissioning targeted for Q1 2027 (SimFer, 8 September 2026).
• Traffic: 13 trains a day in July 2026 against one at start-up, with a goal of 50 daily trains at full capacity, according to CTG as reported by Kaloum Presse.

Across the whole corridor, ship-tracking data show a clear acceleration. Breakwave Advisors recorded 1.51 Mt exported in Q1 2026, then 1.82 Mt in April, as the barge fleet grew from 2 to 8 units out of 17 planned. In August 2026, flows out of Guinea hit a record of roughly 3 Mt (2.9 to 3.1 Mt depending on the measure), even though the rainy season usually cuts loadings by up to 20%. The market expected around 20 Mt of exports for 2026 as a whole.

What to watch in the coming months

Three factors will shape what comes next: completion of the SimFer terminal in 2027, offshore transhipment capacity during the rainy season, and Chinese steel demand, which weighs on iron ore prices. Rio Tinto’s quarterly reports and CTG data remain the best indicators of actual progress.