Guinea Suspends Iron Mine Crucial to Helping China Cut Reliance on Australia

The development of the world’s largest known untapped iron ore reserve in West Africa has been halted once again, after the interim government of Guinea said on Thursday there has been “no progress” with getting foreign investors of the project to work toward the country’s interest, which includes the construction of a railway.

Chinese investors are among the main forces pushing the Simandou project forward, as it could bring down prices for China’s steel mills and may even further reshape the global supply chain. The project’s development has become more important to China as Beijing looks to cut its imports of Australian iron ores amid geopolitical tension with Canberra.