From Bloomie:
Rio Tinto Group is preparing to restart work on developing the world’s largest untapped iron-ore resource after West Africa’s Ebola crisis curbed progress on the $20 billion project.
“There are people considering returning to site, they are not quite there yet,” Alan Davies, the chief executive officer of Rio’s diamond and minerals unit who’s also in charge of work on Simandou, said today in an interview in Melbourne. “We remain on a very vigilant standing for Ebola, what we don’t want to do is to let our guard down.”
And the AFR:
Rio Tinto diamonds and minerals chief Alan Davies says the undeveloped Simandou iron ore project in Guinea he heads up can be built for considerably less than its $US20 billion ($26 billion) price tag, and says the crash in the iron ore price has not wrecked the investment case.
…But Mr Davies told The Australian Financial Review that he expected the infrastructure build to cost less than the $US13.5 billion estimate – which would be “good for everything”, including enticing investors. Tenders have been issued to construction companies who are fiercely competing in a market lacking in big greenfields projects.
He can dream.
