"Communities appeal renewal of Simandou permits in Guinea’s top court", MINING.COM, 22 August 2024

[...] communities from the prefectures of Forécariah, Kérouané, Mamou and Kindia are appealing the ECCs granted to Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS), citing “inadequacies in environmental studies and environmental and social oversight, and lack of dissemination of key information.”

The project [...] is led by two consortiums: Simfer, a joint venture between Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) and Chalco, a Chinese aluminum producer; and WCS, which is composed of Hongqiao, China’s largest aluminum producer, in collaboration with Winning International Group, a Singapore-based entity. The Guinean government is also a member of each consortium.

[...] opponents say the rail line cuts through the country’s endangered species habitats, agricultural lands and protected areas before being exported from a new deep-water port located in an area they say is “key to the local fisheries industry”.