About 160km from Simandou, a Guinean iron ore mine whose $23bn price tag makes it the world’s biggest mining project, lies another reserve of yet-higher quality: Kon Kweni, a deposit owned by US company Ivanhoe Atlantic in the forested Nimba mountains of south-east Guinea.
Ivanhoe Atlantic, founded by American-Canadian mining billionaire Robert Friedland, has positioned its mine and rail project as a Donald Trump-endorsed alternative to China-led Simandou, pledging to deliver high-grade iron ore into western supply chains.
Bronwyn Barnes, president and chief executive of Ivanhoe Atlantic, said the $1.8bn project — which Ivanhoe has branded the “Liberty Corridor” — would “help counter China’s tightening grip over critical minerals”.