EXTRACTION / Mining Mapping
The construction state of play
On June 4, 2026, Rio Tinto released SimFer’s second-quarter project update for the Simandou Blocks 3 and 4 operation. At the end of March 2026, the SimFer mine was approximately 74% complete, with bulk earthworks and permanent production facilities progressing on schedule, while ore continues to be crushed and stockpiled. The SimFer rail spur is fully operational, with full commissioning of the line completed in Q1 2026. The SimFer port is progressing ahead of schedule, reaching 78% completion at the end of March, with commissioning targeted for Q1 2027. Key milestones recently achieved include the shipment of 0.6 million tonnes of iron ore in Q1 2026, first sales completed in China in April, and the arrival of three ship loaders at the Morebaya port. As at the end of the first quarter, 2.1 million tonnes of crushed ore had been stockpiled at the mine gate ready for loading, with ore being crushed using temporary crushing facilities, with first ore expected through permanent crushing facilities in the second half of 2026. SimFer Managing Director Chris Aitchison framed the moment directly: the project is now transitioning from achieving key milestones to continuous operational execution across the mine site, railway, and port.
Why the port number matters more than the mine number
The two percentage figures belong to a single project structure but represent distinct construction timelines and different risk profiles. The port reaching 78% ahead of its internal schedule matters operationally because SimFer’s current export pathway runs through the WCS barge port at Morebaya, a shared infrastructure arrangement designed as a transitional solution. SimFer will construct a 60 million tonne per year transshipment vessel port; once complete, all co-developed infrastructure and rolling stock will be transferred to and operated by the Compagnie du TransGuinéen joint venture, in which SimFer and WCS each hold a 42.5% equity stake and the Guinean state a 15% stake. When the SimFer port and its transshipment vessels are commissioned in Q1 2027, SimFer will control its own dedicated export infrastructure for the first time, removing dependence on WCS shared facilities and enabling the ramp-up toward full-capacity operations that the 60 Mt target requires.
Who owns what and why it matters
The ownership and governance architecture of SimFer determines the distribution of economic benefits for the project’s full operational life. SimFer is the joint venture between Rio Tinto, Chalco Iron Ore Holdings, a Chinalco-led consortium of Chinese state-owned enterprises, and the Government of Guinea. Rio Tinto holds 53% of SimFer Jersey Limited, CIOH holds 47%. SimFer S.A., the entity holding the mining concession for Blocks 3 and 4, is owned 15% by the Guinean state and 85% by SimFer Jersey Limited. Around 25,000 employees and contractors are currently working across SimFer’s scope of work, with 82% of them Guinean nationals. The Guinean state’s 15% free-carry at every layer of the structure means that the government holds a direct stake in the rail and port assets that will carry not only Simandou’s ore but potentially other Guinean mineral exports over the project’s life.
The 60 Mt target and Guinea’s fiscal clock
The 60 Mt production target for 2028 is the reference figure against which all construction progress is being assessed. Rio Tinto’s overall targets remain unchanged: 5 to 6 million tonnes of ore from Simandou in 2026, scaling to 60 million tonnes per year by 2028. At end-March 2026, with the mine at 74% completion and the port at 78%, the construction programme has approximately 26 months remaining before the 60 Mt target date. The Q1 shipment of 0.6 million tonnes and the April first sales in China establish that the infrastructure works. The gap between 0.6 Mt per quarter and 15 Mt per quarter, which is what 60 Mt annually requires, is the ramp-up curve that the next 26 months must deliver. The fiscal significance of these construction figures is that they make the 2028 target a credible engineering timeline rather than a planning aspiration, feeding the IMF’s projection of Simandou adding 3.4% of GDP annually to Guinea between 2030 and 2039, and underpinning the Simandou 2040 sovereign wealth fund architecture. Three ship loaders have arrived at Morebaya. The rail spur is operational. The port is ahead of schedule. The 60 Mt target is on schedule for the largest iron ore project Africa has ever produced.