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Excellence recognized: Rio Tinto SimFer celebrates 2026 Supplier Award Winners

May 14, 2026

Conakry, Republic of Guinea – Rio Tinto Guinea and SimFer, the joint venture between the Government of the Republic of Guinea, Rio Tinto and the CIOH consortium led by Chinalco, hosted the second edition of the Simandou Supplier Recognition Awards on 13 May 2026 in Conakry.

Group photo of the eight 2026 Supplier Award winners standing in front of a Rio Tinto and SimFer branded backdrop at the ceremony in Conakry.

The event brought together 300 people to celebrate supplier excellence and recognise the importance of each of the companies that is contributing to successfully building the Simandou project. Eight awards were presented, reflecting Rio Tinto and SimFer’s core values and the standards that define sustainable project delivery.

Chris Aitchison, SimFer Managing Director stated: “Almost 20,000 people are continuing to build our mine and port – working every day to complete Simandou and deliver its promise. Everything the SimFer partners – the Government of Guinea, Rio Tinto and Chinalco – have achieved has only been possible thanks to our suppliers – more than 1,000 businesses and organisations. We celebrate all of our winners and nominees of course, but we also celebrate all those who are contributing to Simandou – from large Guinean and multinational companies employing thousands of people on the project, to the smallest family businesses in the communities across our project scope.”

This year’s winners are:

BEDROS Company SARL for the Care, Courage & Curiosity Award
Aden Services Guinea for the Simandou Award for Performance in Services Delivery
NOVA for the Simandou Award for Performance in Goods Delivery
GPC for the HSE Award
Vision Sans Frontiere for the Local Engagement Award
Société Intellact for the Rio Tinto Guinea Award
WELHY-CIS for the Wontanara Prix Award
China Overseas Engineering Group Conakry-SARLU (COVEC) for the CEO Award.

Chris Aitchison, SimFer Managing Director, presenting the CEO Award framed certificate to Liu Chenyu of COVEC, alongside a COVEC representative holding flowers.

Liu Chenyu, General Manager of COVEC, winner of the CEO Award for overall supplier performance said: “I would like to sincerely thank SimFer, the broader project management team, as well as our valued partners, for their support, confidence, and leadership. We are deeply grateful. As one of the major contractors on this project, we are honored to have the opportunity to contribute to the development of this world-class mine.”

Nominees and winners for the Supplier Awards are selected through a structured and transparent assessment process based on clear performance criteria aligned with SimFer’s standards and Rio Tinto’s global values.