Guinea’s Simandou mining project—the world’s largest high-grade iron ore venture—is set to begin production by the first quarter of 2026 after nearly 30 years of delays. According to the country’s mining minister, Bouna Sylla, 5% of the revenues from the $15 billion project will be channeled towards the expansion of the nation’s education system over the next 25 years. Guinea currently allocates 2% of its GDP to education, just about half the global average. But with this initiative, Conakry can improve Guinean lives and reduce the skills gap between Guineans and the rest of the world. Beyond this, Guinea also plans to allocate 20% of revenue from another Simandou-related venture to support high school students studying science and engineering abroad. Sylla, who revealed Guinea’s plan at the Indaba Mining conference in Cape Town, compared the initiative to Singapore’s historical efforts in leveraging natural resources for human capital development.
Source: SEMAFOR