China is poised to begin receiving iron ore shipments from Guinea and Algeria this year, as Chinese firms complete the railway lines and ports needed to overcome logistical bottlenecks.
For years, the lack of railway infrastructure connecting mine sites to port facilities had stymied iron ore exports from both nations.
Likewise, in Algeria, there is another significant iron ore deposit at the Gara Djebilet mine deep in the southwestern Sahara Desert, near the Mauritanian border. That is about 1,650km away from Mediterranean ports – a distance that will be bridged by a combination of new and upgraded railway lines.
In Guinea, Simandou is now on track to start shipping iron ore from November, according to Rio Tinto, the Anglo-Australian mining giant jointly developing the project with Chinese companies.
It is expected to ship between 500,000 to 1 million tonnes of iron ore this year, then ramp up over 30 months to full capacity of 60 million tonnes annually, Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm said last week.
The fast-tracked plan has been bolstered by the completion of the ballasted track of the Transguinean Railway – also known as the CTG Railway, designed by China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) – which paves the way for testing and commissioning.
“Once operational, the railway will serve as a vital channel for Guinea’s mineral transport, boosting efficiency and driving resource circulation in the region,” CRCC said on July 11, adding that “this vital link will enhance Guinea’s mining competitiveness and economic growth”.
SimFer, a joint venture involving Rio Tinto and China’s Chalco Iron Ore Holdings (CIOH), is developing and will operate Blocks 3 and 4 of the mine, targeting annual production of 60 million tonnes. Rio Tinto said the mine development, railway spur and port construction were all ahead of schedule.
The group holding the concession to Blocks 1 and 2 of the mine – Winning Consortium Simandou, in which China Hongqiao Group’s Weiqiao Aluminium has an interest – also confirmed plans to ship its first iron ore by the end of 2025.
Most of the iron ore from Simandou is expected to go to China given that Chinese firms – including China Shandong Weiqiao Group and state-owned China Baowu Steel Group – have invested heavily in the project.
In Algeria, meanwhile, the first 135km priority section of a railway line connecting Tindouf with the Gara Djebilet mine has been completed, according to the Algeria Press Service.
Chinese construction giant CRCC said it had to overcome strong heat, sandstorms and water shortages to build the railway line. It is part of a larger 950km railway project that will link the southwest and the north of the country via Tindouf and Bechar – enabling iron ore to be shipped from the mine to processing facilities, and for international export.
Abdelkader Mazzar, communications director of the National Agency for the Study and Monitoring of Railway Investments, said completion of the first section of railway marked a “major step” for the project.
Mazzar also told the Algeria Press Service that most of the remaining 575km of railway line – linking Tindouf and Hammaguir via Oum-Laâssel – had been built and was expected to be commissioned later this year.
Gara Djebilet is one of the world’s largest iron ore mines with an estimated 3.5 billion tonnes – about 1.7 billion tonnes of which is considered exploitable.
Ovigwe Eguegu, a policy analyst at Beijing-based consultancy Development Reimagined, said that with the railway projects in Algeria and Guinea completed, allowing iron ore to be exported, prices could come down.
Eguegu noted Moody’s projection that iron ore prices would hold at between US$80 and US$100 per tonne in the next 18 months but also pointed to market factors such as China’s changing demand for iron ore.
He said that while Chinese steel output had dropped by 9 per cent in June from a year ago, iron ore imports hit their highest monthly figure for 2025.
“So China shows decent demand, which is good news for African exporters,” Eguegu said.