Mining operations resumed on Thursday at two blocks of the giant Simandou iron ore project in Guinea after workers ended a strike over pay and labour conditions.
The affected blocks, operated by the Baowu Winning Simandou Consortium and led by China’s Baowu Resources, had been shut since 28 April after employees demanded compliance with Guinea’s mining labour regulations and a unified pay structure introduced last year.
According to an agreement signed on Wednesday between management, unions and Guinean labour and mining authorities, the company committed to implementing the national collective Agreement for the mining sector signed in February 2025 and maintaining workers’ pay entitlements. The deal also includes fixed salary increases for different job grades.
Further discussions supervised by Guinea’s labour inspectorate are expected to continue until 20 May to address outstanding classification issues. Both management and unions agreed to immediately resume operations and comply with labour laws governing strikes.
The Simandou project, regarded as one of the world’s largest untapped iron ore reserves, is divided into four blocks. Blocks 1 and 2 are operated by the Chinese-led consortium, while blocks 3 and 4 are managed by Rio Tinto through the Simfer joint venture.