History has been made in Gabon with Fortescue’s first product from its Belinga iron ore project ready for shipment, marking the first time the Company has exported iron ore from a port outside of Australia.
Belinga iron ore project is ready for shipment. (Credit: Fortescue)
History has been made in Gabon with Fortescue’s first product from its Belinga iron ore project ready for shipment, marking the first time the Company has exported iron ore from a port outside of Australia.
It comes less than a year after Fortescue signed a Mining Convention with the Government of Gabon.
Fortescue Metals Chief Executive Officer, Dino Otranto, was joined by Ivindo Iron Chief Executive Officer, Eric Epee, and Gabon Minister of Mines, M. Hervé Patrick Opiangah, in Libreville to celebrate the milestone.
“This is a truly remarkable achievement by the team in such a short period of time and marks a key milestone in the early-stage mine development in Gabon. This project has the potential to revolutionise our portfolio and ultimately create a product that will be the envy of our peers. It will also open growth opportunities for Fortescue throughout Africa,” he said.
“This initial project phase is providing important insights that will help ensure we set this project up for future success. A major exploration drilling campaign is underway with the results continuing to show that this project has the potential to be significant scale and high-grade.”
More than 400 Gabonese (including contractors) have been employed as part of the project to date with more than 50 per cent employed from villages around the project area.
As part of Fortescue’s commitment to support communities where it operates, more than US$30 million in goods and services have been sourced in Gabon so far for the project.
Studies continue to advance potential designs of a large-scale development.
Ivindo Iron is the operating entity for the Belinga project and Fortescue has a 72 per cent indirect interest in the company.
Source: Company Press Release