Cape Town, South Africa — Rio Tinto and SimFer representatives attended Mining Indaba 2025, Africa’s largest mining conference, to represent the Simandou project and promote the progress of mining development in Guinea.
During the four-day event, a joint delegation from SimFer and Rio Tinto Guinea engaged with regional and global stakeholders and took part in a number of panel events focusing on Simandou’s progress. This year’s conference was well attended by the Government of Guinea and other Simandou Industrial partners and provided an opportunity to showcase the progress made over the past twelve months and outline the project’s plans for the year ahead.
Throughout the event, Rio Tinto and SimFer leaders took part in high-level discussions, panel sessions, and stakeholder engagement, emphasizing the critical role of partnerships in accelerating infrastructure and resource development. Simandou exemplifies how a collaborative approach—bringing together multiple developers and investors—can drive the success of large-scale projects.
The public-private partnership (PPP) model adopted for Simandou represents a pioneering approach in Africa and proved of significant interest to investors, Governments and others at Indaba 2025.
Gérard Rheinberger, Rio Tinto’s Managing Director, Simandou, said: “Mining Indaba is a cornerstone of Africa’s mining industry where thousands of people come together to promote investment and discuss mining. It was heartening to see Guinea so well represented this year. The whole continent is interested in Simandou and to learn how our partnership model can be used to deliver megaprojects of this size for the benefit of communities and mining companies alike.”
Chris Aitchison, Managing Director, Simfer, stated: “This was my first time at Mining Indaba and it was fantastic to stand alongside the Government of Guinea and our Industrial Partners to promote the progress we are making together on Simandou. The Simandou project is not just a catalyst for economic growth but a cornerstone for building a brighter, more prosperous future for Guinea and it was a great pleasure to be able to tell this story to the mining world.”
With a long-standing presence at Mining Indaba, Rio Tinto views this event as a cornerstone of its engagement in Africa. The 2025 event reaffirmed the company’s vision and ambitions on the continent, highlighting Simandou’s progress and its transformative potential for Guinea and the global mining industry, as well as reporting on Rio Tinto’s other operations on the continent.
