Guinea Plans Tender Offer for Simandou Mining Rights, Conde Says

Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) — Guinea is preparing a tender offer for mining rights to Simandou, the world’s biggest untapped iron-ore deposit, that were stripped from billionaire Beny Steinmetz’s BSG Resources Ltd. and Vale SA in April.

The country’s mining minister is in Paris preparing the tender with lawyers, President Alpha Conde told reporters yesterday in Conakry, the capital. He didn’t give any details on the timing of the process.

BSGR and Vale, the world’s biggest iron ore exporter, had planned a $10 billion operation at Simandou. The West African nation revoked mining licenses after presenting what it called evidence of corruption in awarding permits.

Guinea’s planned tender has attracted interest from ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, and Glencore Plc, people familiar with the matter said in July.

BSGR is seeking to block the process and has filed an arbitration request with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes against Guinea, the company said in September. Its rights to the Simandou project were confiscated illegally in April “through a deeply-flawed process based on unreliable and untested evidence,” it said.

–With assistance from Kevin Crowley in Johannesburg.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ougna Camara in Conakry at ocamara@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net Alastair Reed, Hilton Shone