...Gabon's Kongou Falls...has apparently been earmarked as the site for a hydro-electric dam to power the Bélinga project, a 3.5 billion dollar initiative to mine iron ore in north-eastern Gabon that is being carried out with financing from Chinese firms in a consortium headed by CMEC [China National Machinery & Equipment]... [Conservation] groups question why a decision on dam location appears to have been made before an environmental impact assessment of construction was undertaken, as required by law. [Their] statement further calls on the Ministry of Mines to make public the feasibility study which indicates that about 30,000 jobs stand to be created. Of these jobs, it asks, "how many are reserved for the Gabonese...?" Furthermore, "if we consider the state of impoverishment of most Gabonese, in spite of significant oil, mining and logging revenues, we may think that it will be the same for revenues from the iron exploitation of Bélinga!"