Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Mining · Guinea · 2008–2026

Simandou iron ore project, Guinea

Nature's voice · report
Along the 650-kilometre Simandou railway, red mud made fields in Bombia and Sékhoussoria unproductive.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record. Disputed
Recorded
  • Blasting drove my chimpanzees from Gnèguèyah hill. Mongabay
  • Between 64 and 138 of my forest elephants are estimated to remain in Guinea. Mongabay
People
  • Physical displacement forecast 343 people were displaced or listed for relocation. not independently verified
    2014 contractor presentation; initial estimate; document could not be checked.
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 4 insufficient · 1 disputed See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
Did the Simandou railway harm chimpanzees and forest elephants?
  • Press and investigations Mongabay: Blasting displaced chimpanzees from Gnèguèyah hill; 64 to 138 forest elephants are estimated to remain in Guinea. Mongabay
  • Company or project Rio Tinto: Its section of the railway lies outside chimpanzee habitat. Mongabay
  • Company or project Winning Consortium Simandou and Baowu: No response on record.

Rights to Simandou blocks 1 and 2 passed from Rio Tinto to BSGR in 2008; a Geneva court convicted BSGR's owner of bribery in 2021 and Rio Tinto settled a US SEC case over consultant payments in 2023. The first ore reached China in January 2026, and reports from the railway corridor record lost fields and displaced wildlife.

USD 15 millionRio Tinto payment to the SEC over consultant payments tied to Simandou
Reported figure, 2023.

Status As of January 2026: Simandou has been exporting since the first shipment reached China on 17 January 2026; Rio Tinto's SEC settlement concluded in 2023.

What?
The Simandou iron ore project in Guinea: rights moved from Rio Tinto to BSGR in 2008, a bribery conviction in Geneva and an SEC settlement followed, and reports from the railway corridor record lost fields and displaced wildlife. Willkie Compliance Concourse
Where?
Simandou and its 650-kilometre railway across Guinea, including Bombia and Sékhoussoria. Mongabay
When?
Blocks reassigned 2008; consultant payments 2011; Geneva conviction 2021; SEC settlement 2023; Baowu closing 19 June 2024; first shipment 17 January 2026. Willkie Compliance Concourse
Who?
Gained
  • BSGR — Invested USD 160 million in Simandou blocks 1 and 2 and sold 51% of its holding to Vale for USD 2.5 billion about 18 months later.
  • Rio Tinto — Kept its rights to Simandou blocks 3 and 4 after paying USD 15 million to the SEC. Willkie Compliance Concourse
  • Winning and Baowu (WCS) — Operate Simandou blocks 1 and 2 and the railway; first shipment January 2026. Financial Afrik
Lost
  • Farmers in Bombia and Sékhoussoria — Red mud made fields unproductive; compensation of 50 to 100 million Guinean francs; about 15 still awaiting payment. Mongabay
Harmed
  • Chimpanzees at Gnèguèyah hill and forest elephants — Chimpanzees were displaced by blasting; 64 to 138 forest elephants are estimated to remain in Guinea. Mongabay
Why?
The SEC settlement concerned payments to a consultant to protect Simandou rights. Willkie Compliance Concourse
How?
Consultant payments of more than USD 10 million in 2011; rights to blocks 1 and 2 reassigned in 2008 and later operated by WCS. Willkie Compliance Concourse
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Simandou's blocks 1 and 2 were taken back from Rio Tinto by the government of President Lansana Conté in 2008. They passed to BSGR (Beny Steinmetz Group Resources) for an investment of USD 160 million, and about 18 months later BSGR sold 51% of its holding to Vale for USD 2.5 billion. A Geneva court convicted BSGR's owner, Beny Steinmetz, of bribery in 2021.

In 2023 Rio Tinto paid USD 15 million to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to settle charges over payments of more than USD 10 million to a consultant in 2011 to protect its Simandou rights, including an attempted transfer of USD 822,506. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation closed with the settlement, and Rio Tinto kept its rights to blocks 3 and 4.

Blocks 1 and 2 and the railway are run by Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS), a partnership of the Singapore-based Winning group and China's Baowu Steel Group, which became a shareholder with closing on 19 June 2024. The first shipment, about 200,000 tonnes of ore at about 65% iron, reached China on 17 January 2026, from a project with a stated capacity of 120 million tonnes a year.

Mongabay reported in December 2025 that along the 650-kilometre Simandou railway, red mud made fields in Bombia and Sékhoussoria unproductive, that compensation ranged from 50 to 100 million Guinean francs (about USD 5,700 to 11,500 as the source gives it) and that about 15 farmers were still waiting for payment. Blasting drove chimpanzees from Gnèguèyah hill, and an estimated 64 to 138 forest elephants remain in Guinea. Rio Tinto said its own section of the railway lies outside chimpanzee habitat.

Bloomberg, citing Rio Tinto, wrote on 29 July 2024 that the project would help decarbonisation: its ore, at about 65% iron, suits direct-reduction plants run on gas or hydrogen instead of coal.

  1. 2008Blocks 1 and 2 taken from Rio Tinto and passed to BSGR for a USD 160 million investment
  2. 2011Rio Tinto pays a consultant more than USD 10 million to protect its Simandou rights (later the subject of the SEC settlement)
  3. 2021Geneva court convicts BSGR owner Beny Steinmetz of bribery
  4. 2023Rio Tinto settles with the SEC for USD 15 million over Simandou consultant payments
  5. 2024Baowu joins WCS as a shareholder (closing 19 June)
  6. 2025Mongabay report on the Simandou railway corridor (December)
  7. 2026First Simandou shipment, about 200,000 tonnes, reaches China (17 January)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Did the Simandou railway harm chimpanzees and forest elephants?
Press and investigations
Mongabay

Blasting displaced chimpanzees from Gnèguèyah hill; 64 to 138 forest elephants are estimated to remain in Guinea.

Mongabay
Company or project
Rio Tinto

Its section of the railway lies outside chimpanzee habitat.

Mongabay
Company or project
Winning Consortium Simandou and Baowu

No response on record.

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • Simandou was presented as supporting steel decarbonisation: ore at about 65% iron suits direct-reduction plants run on gas or hydrogen instead of coal.
    Bloomberg, citing Rio Tinto (29 July 2024; via a secondary summary only) · Bloomberg
  • Rio Tinto's section of the Simandou railway lies outside chimpanzee habitat.
    Rio Tinto, as reported by Mongabay (December 2025) · Mongabay

Recorded

  • Rio Tinto settled with the SEC for USD 15 million over payments of more than USD 10 million to a consultant in 2011 to protect its Simandou rights; the record also cites an attempted transfer of USD 822,506.
    Willkie Compliance Concourse
  • Red mud along the Simandou railway made fields in Bombia and Sékhoussoria unproductive; compensation was 50 to 100 million Guinean francs and about 15 farmers were still awaiting payment.
    Mongabay
  • Blasting displaced chimpanzees from Gnèguèyah hill; 64 to 138 forest elephants are estimated to remain in Guinea.
    Mongabay
  • The first Simandou shipment, about 200,000 tonnes at 65% iron, reached China; stated capacity is 120 million tonnes a year.
    Reuters
  • Baowu became a shareholder in Winning Consortium Simandou, with closing on 19 June 2024.
    Financial Afrik
  • A Geneva court convicted Beny Steinmetz, owner of BSGR, of bribery in 2021.
    Arab News/AFP
  • The carbon footprint of steel depends more on the furnace that processes the ore than on the ore itself.

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
No figure published.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Currency: USD · Window: . All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • Rio Tinto (December 2025): Said its own section of the Simandou railway lies outside chimpanzee habitat. · Mongabay
  • Rio Tinto (2023): Settled the SEC case over consultant payments tied to Simandou by paying USD 15 million. · Willkie Compliance Concourse

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

  1. 2023-03Settled$15m USD 15 million paid to the SEC
    SEC settlement with Rio Tinto over payments to a consultant to protect Simandou rights
    US Securities and Exchange Commission · Regulatory · US Securities and Exchange Commission → Rio Tinto

    Rio Tinto paid USD 15 million to settle charges under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act over payments of more than USD 10 million to a consultant in 2011 to protect its Simandou rights, including an attempted transfer of USD 822,506. The investigation closed with the settlement, and Rio Tinto kept its rights to blocks 3 and 4. Willkie Compliance Concourse

  2. 2021Claimant won
    Bribery conviction of the owner of BSGR in connection with Simandou
    Geneva court · Criminal · → Beny Steinmetz (owner of BSGR)

    A Geneva court convicted Beny Steinmetz of bribery in 2021. The sentence was reportedly reduced on appeal; that detail is unverified (see unknown). Arab News/AFP

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Simandou railway length
650 km
Cuts across Guinea (Mongabay, December 2025)
Forest elephants remaining in Guinea
64–138
Estimate cited by Mongabay, December 2025
Chimpanzees at Gnèguèyah hill
Displaced
Mongabay reports that blasting drove them from the hill; Rio Tinto says its railway section is outside chimpanzee habitat

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Displacement reportedCourt ruling exists

Nature

  • Disputed Did the Simandou railway harm chimpanzees and forest elephants?

Figures

  • Insufficient People displaced: 2014 contractor presentation; initial estimate; document could not be checked.
  • Insufficient Displaced economic: 2014 contractor presentation; initial estimate; document could not be checked.

Accounts

  • None on record Winning Consortium Simandou and Baowu: No response on record.

Record

  • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: a 2014 contractor presentation forecast the physical displacement of 343 households and the economic displacement of 5,520 households at Simandou, described as initial estimates; current displacement numbers are not on record.
  • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: that the sentence against Beny Steinmetz was reduced on appeal to three years in prison, half suspended, with a payment of CHF 50 million (taken).
  • None on record Bloomberg's statement that Simandou would help decarbonisation is known only through a secondary summary.
  • None on record Responses of Winning Consortium Simandou and Baowu to the Mongabay report are not on record.

Did the harm stop?

The Simandou railway and mine were operating, with a first shipment to China in January 2026.

Who paid?

Farmers along the Simandou railway, who received compensation of 50 to 100 million Guinean francs while about 15 were still awaiting payment; Rio Tinto paid USD 15 million to the SEC.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

Press and investigations

  1. Rio Tinto settles FCPA charges for $15 million
    Willkie Compliance Concourse · 2023-03-13

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Institutions

SEC
The US Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates securities markets and what companies tell investors.

Places and local terms

Renova Foundation
The foundation set up after the 2015 Mariana dam collapse to carry out repairs and compensation on behalf of Samarco and its owners.
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