Guinea’s mining minister bouna sylla, asked by reuters about the level of fatalities at the project, said in early february there was an ongoing government investigation into safety issues. Since november 2023, at least 14 workers have lost their lives during the construction of the mine, railway, and port infrastructure linked to simandou The government has launched a formal investigation amid mounting concerns over worker safety and regulatory oversight. The simandou iron ore project in guinea faces a critical operational pause following a devastating workplace accident On october 2, 2025, three foreign workers lost their lives at the kerouane mine site, prompting immediate suspension of all operations by the winning consortium simandou (wcs). A staggering number of worker fatalities mar the construction of a railway and port near simandou, the world's largest iron mine complex, highlighting significant safety oversights by rio tinto and its chinese partners.
Chinalco president wang shilei said “the start of operations of the simandou project is an important achievement guided by the consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries It reflects the joint efforts and pragmatic cooperation between china and guinea, contributing to guinea’s industrialisation and modernisation process. The $23bn simandou mine in guinea has taken almost three decades to begin operating but could tilt the balance of power in the global iron ore market Operations at the simandou iron ore project are set to commence, heralding a major transformation of guinea’s mining sector.
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