Rio Tinto Limited (ASX:RIO) is pushing ahead with plans to revive the massive $US20 billion Simandou iron ore project in southeastern Guinea.
The global miner has today inked an agreement with the Government of Guinea and its partners, Chinese state-owned Chinalco and The World Bank's International Finance Corporation.
The investment framework outlines conditions for the infrastructure investment in blocks 3 and 4 of the Simandou project and has been described as a significant move forward.
While a date has not been set for starting production the statement commits project partners to finalising a feasibility study within a year to confirm the project costs and timeline.
The Simandou iron ore project is poised to be the largest combined iron ore and infrastructure project in Africa and potentially double Guinea’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Rio Tinto swung from an annual loss to a profit of $1.2 billion in the 2013 calendar year.
