Winning Consortium Simandou is a Consortium set up by the founders of SMB Winning Consortium, namely Winning International Group from Singapore and China Hongqiao.
The company WCS and its affiliates will develop and operate the open pit iron ore mine, the railway, the port and an airport. Construction will be completed by several major international contractors, including Chinese companies and Guinean service providers specialized in survey, design, construction as well as the operation of mines and logistics.
The Project will employ several thousands of people to support the development of the Feasibility Studies and related activities. During the construction phase, tens of thousands of people are anticipated to participate in the project either directly or indirectly. WCS will respect its commitment to engaging and deploying local resources and content in the Base Convention, Railway Infrastructure Convention and Port Infrastructure Convention.
Winning Consortium Simandou (“WCS”) plans on commencing an iron ore mine in the Kankan Region, Kérouané Prefecture of Guinea, Africa. The Simandou area (Figure 1) is split into four mineable blocks, Block #1, #2, #3 and #4, of which Block #1 and Block#2 (Figure 2) are owned by WCS and is where the Simandou Project is located. WCS owns 100% of the Concession extending the entirety of Blocks #1 and #2.
WCS won the public tender to develop Simandou Iron Ore Blocks #1 and #2 on 12 November 2019 and signed a Base Convention agreement with the Guinean Government on 9 June 2020, which was approved by the Guinean National Assembly on 26 June 2020. Winning Consortium Simandou Railway (hereinafter referred to as “WCSR”) and WCS signed a Rail Infrastructure Agreement for Simandou Iron Ore #1 and #2 with the Guinean Government on 12 November 2020, which was approved by the Guinean National Assembly on 23 November 2020. The same process applied for the Winning Consortium Simandou Port (hereinafter referred to as “WCSP”) and WCS, signing on the same day of 12 November 2020 and also being approved on 23 November 2020.
Amongst iron ore deposits worldwide, the overall Simandou deposits constitute the largest unexploited reserve of high-quality iron ore. The blocks #1 and #2, to be developed by WCS, currently accounts for more than 1.8 billion tonnes of estimated reserves, with an iron content of more than 65.5wt%.