CONAKRY, REPUBLIC OF GUINEA, 7 February 2020 – In the context of relaunching the Iron Ore Mining Project for the Nimba Mountains, the Société des Mines de Fer de Guinée (SMFG) held a consultation of the public on Friday,7th February 2020, at the Noom Hotel in Conakry, starting at 09:00.

This meeting sought to provide and exchange information, focusing on presenting progress with SMFG’s mining project and its environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA). The first drilling campaign was started by SMFG in 2006, and continued until 2013, to better understand the mineral resources identified during the drilling of the 1970s and 1980s, conducted by Mifergui-Nimba, among others.

The environmental and social impact assessment addresses a vast array of topics such as flora, fauna and ecosystems, as well as the socio-economic conditions of the area. The principal objective of this ESIA is to identify the environmental and social issues at stake in the zone, and to enhance all positive impacts, avoid or minimise remaining the negative impacts, and plan the rehabilitation of disturbed areas as the project progresses. The ESIA, including the environmental and social management plans that flow from it, must comply with the requirements of Guinean law, in addition to the concerns of the local population and international stakeholders concerned with world heritage and biosphere reserves.

SMFG’s approach via these consultations, which will be conducted in Guinée Forestière starting on 10 February, is to advance transparently and in full compliance with current law including the Environment Code of 2019, the General Guide for Conducting Environmental and Social Impact Studies of 2013, and the Directive on Conducting Environmental and Social Impact Assessments for Mining Operations of 2014. Looking beyond simply abiding by these legal requirements, SMFG aspires to make the Nimba Project an example of sustainable mining, not only for Guinea but for any industrial development project near a sensitive site. To this end, SMFG plans strategic support to the local economy, and significant strengthening of conservation of the Nimba Mountains, targeting key species like the chimpanzee and the viviparous toad.

About SMFG’s Project.
SMFG’s Nimba Iron Ore Project started in 2003 with the signature of a mining convention between the company Euronimba Limited (United Kingdom) and the Government of Guinea. Fieldwork began in 2005 with the renovation and expansion of the infrastructure formerly belonging to Mifergui.
Starting in 2017, the shareholders began a process to identify a new investor to develop the project. This process culminated on 5th September 2019 with the Government agreeing that the company High Power Exploration (HPX) acquires these shares. The transfer was completed the same day and an amended mining convention was signed between Euronimba Limited, now under the control of HPX, and the Guinean State. The Guinean National Assembly ratified this amended mining convention on the 3rd of December, 2019.

About SMFG.
The Société des Mines de Fer de Guinée is a limited company with a Board of Directors, legally registered in the Résidence Jeannine, 3rd floor, Camayenne, Dixinn, Conakry. It is registered in the Trade and Company Registry of Conakry under number GC-KRY/01.861/2003.