Rio Tinto has broken ground on a 650 km railway line in the West African state of Guinea to ship iron ore.

The “Trans-Guinean Railway” will link the Simandou iron ore deposits to a port to be built at Matakong, an island near the Sierra Leone border. The rail system will be dual-track and built to higher standards than a typical line because it must carry 10,000-tonne trains. The line will have 12 stations, 213 bridges and four tunnels. Rio Tinto is working in conjunction with the government of Guinea and Winning Consortium Simandou (WSD), a company it set up in conjunction with Winning International Group, a conglomerate based in Singapore. Rio Tinto plans to invest US$6.2 billion in the mine, rail and port project, in conjunction with some other companies. The work is being undertaken by La Compagnie du TransGuinéen (CTG), formed by WSD and Rio Tinto in March 2022. Both main partners own a 42.5% equity share, with the government of Guinea taking the remaining 15%. This entity will manage the construction and operation of the railway and port.