Simandou Iron Ore Complex Readies Maiden Shipment to China

According to several reports in mid-October 2025, Rio Tinto is accumulating a stockpile of two million tonnes of iron ore at its Simandou mine in Guinea in preparation for a first shipment scheduled in November 2025. In its 3Q25 report, Rio Tinto announced that SimFer, one fo the two mines in the Simandou Project, has already amassed 1.5 million tonnes.

The first shipment is destined for China. The iron ore will be routed by the infrastructure owned by its partner, the Singapore-China consortium Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS), whose bulk seaport is nearing completion.

WCS also owns and operates anothher iorn ore mine in Simandou and reports show that it has also started stockpiling since September 2025 in view of a first shipment. The Simandou is linked to the Atlantic Ocean via a 600-kilometer railway.

At Simandou, Rio Tinto owns Blocks 3 and 4 in the south, while WCS holds blocks 1 and 2 in the north. Together, the Simandou complex is forecasted to produced 120 million tonnes annually at full capacity.

Analysts believe that given the production capacity of Simandou, it will potentially have an impact on the global market of iron ore. According to the Guinean government official, full capacity production is expected to be reached within two years by the end of 2027.

China is the largest buyer of iron ore in the world, although demand has cooled off recently due to the housing crisis. Previously, China used to rely on imports from Australia and Brazi to meet its demands. China has recently only centralized its iron ore procurement in a bid to get a better price.