According to Mining.com, Rio Tinto and its partners in the $23.5 billion Simandou iron ore project in Guinea have reportedly secured a substantial reduction in corporate tax rates—more than halving the standard levy.

As reported by the Australian Financial Review, regulatory filings reveal that Guinea’s current military-led government has approved a 15% corporate tax rate for the Simandou railway and port infrastructure for the first 17 years of operations. This is significantly lower than Guinea’s standard corporate tax rate of 35%, and also below the 30% rate typically applied to Australian mining companies.

The tax concession comes just days after the Guinean government instructed Rio Tinto to build an on-site iron ore processing (beneficiation or smelting) facility as part of the project—a move aimed at boosting local value addition.

The Simandou mine is scheduled to begin production in November 2025, with a planned annual capacity of 120 million tonnes of iron ore.

Rio Tinto previously disclosed a 2014 tax agreement with Guinea’s former civilian government, which included an 8-year tax holiday followed by a 30% tax rate. However, the company has not revealed details of its current negotiations with the military administration.

Meanwhile, the Winning Consortium—which controls Simandou Blocks 1 and 2 and shares infrastructure with Rio Tinto—filed documents in Singapore outlining the fiscal incentives it received. These incentives were first offered in August 2023, though the full framework remains unclear. Under the arrangement, the Rio Tinto-led consortium is still required to pay certain taxes during the initial 8-year period, despite the broader concessions.

According to the Winning Consortium’s filings, the 15% tax rate for rail and port operations will apply for 17 years, after which it will rise to 25%—still well below Guinea’s statutory 35% rate.

The Rio Tinto-led group holds a 42.5% stake in La Compagnie du TransGuinéen (CTG), the entity managing the 600-kilometer railway and a deep-water port on Guinea’s Atlantic coast. CTG was established in February 2022.

Rio Tinto first obtained an exploration license for Simandou in 1997. Since then, the project has weathered two military coups, four heads of state, and three presidential elections. Now, with development nearing completion, Rio Tinto is set to operate one of the two mines in the Simandou range.

(Source: Ministry of Natural Resources)