【Ferro-alloys.com】:The world’s second-largest miner by market value said Wednesday it expects to contribute roughly $6.2 billion to the initial development of the Simandou mine, including port and rail infrastructure needed to export the ore.

The iron ore buried in Guinea’s Simandou mountains is among the world’s largest untapped deposits of the commodity. Its riches have been coveted by miners and investors in a market that has long been dominated by exports from Australia and Brazil.

Rio Tinto has the rights to develop the southern half of the deposit in partnership with the Guinean government and a Chinese consortium led by Aluminium Corp. of China. The Winning Consortium Simandou, which includes Singapore-based Winning International Group and China Hongqiao Group, has rights to develop the northern half, also in partnership with the government.

The capital estimates by Rio Tinto on Wednesday are “another step to unlock this world-class deposit of high-grade iron ore,” Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm told reporters. The miner estimated the investment to be made by its joint venture will total $11.6 billion.

In recent years, Rio Tinto has mostly invested in improvements to existing mining operations rather than in raising output. Miners globally have been more cautious about big projects and megadeals after a punishing market downturn a decade ago.

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• [Editor:Alakay]