I eat more meat than I should. I fly too much, too. We all have to play our part in tackling the climate crisis, and I’m letting the team down. Imagine my relief, then, when I hear Rio Tinto is cracking on with the biggest mining project the world has ever seen. Maybe I won’t be the domino that pushes the planet into a fiery inferno.

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World’s biggest mining project to go ahead

The world’s biggest mining project is finally set to begin in Guinea this year after almost three decades of setbacks. Rio Tinto is partnering with the Guinean government and at least seven other companies ($) to mine for iron ore in the Simandou mountains.

Rio first got its exploration licence in Simandou in 1997. Since then, the miner has lost half the licence and tried to exit the project, only for the sale to fall through. Meanwhile, Guinea has seen two coups d’état. But once the Chinese partners get final sign-off from Beijing, the project is ready to begin.

Part of the job involves financing the construction of a 552km railway that runs from the mine to the sea, an additional 70km of track to connect the mine to the mainline, and a port on the Atlantic coast. Rio’s share of the total cost is expected to be $6.2 billion, more than the company’s entire annual capital expenditure in some of the past five years.

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