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Rio Tinto produces iron ore for steel, aluminium for cars and smart phones, copper for wind turbines, diamonds that set the standard for responsible sourcing, titanium for household products, and borates for crops that feed the world.
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Mining and processing, by its very nature, can have disruptive impacts on the environment, including on local communities. At the same time, mining also delivers significant economic and social benefits to communities, including employment, local business development, tax and royalty streams, as well as education and health programmes. Our goal is always to maximise these benefits and minimise any disruptive impacts as much as possible.
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The Simandou project is imminently due to become the world’s largest greenfield mining project and the largest ever undertaken on the African continent. This once-in-a-generation megaproject will not only place Guinea on the world stage as a top global producer of high-quality, low impurity iron ore, it will also set a new benchmark for large scale project development throughout the region.
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Guinea clean cooking project to distribute more than 72,000 cookstoves by 2030

January 30, 2026

A new clean cooking pilot project – Ecofoyer Guinée – is underway in Guinea, to provide more than 72,000 efficient cookstoves and sustainable cooking fuel to households in Conakry, Beyla, Forécariah and N’Zérékoré. The project aims to reduce the communities’ reliance on firewood and charcoal, helping to limit deforestation and support environmental conservation, improved health and sustainable livelihoods. Ecofoyer Guinée is led by Carbon Neutral Energy Systems (C-NES) and supported by Rio Tinto.

By the end of the pilot project in 2030, a total of 72,500 cookstoves will have been distributed and in use, resulting in benefits to health, lower deforestation rates and improved conservation, and improved livelihoods through reduced costs for families, more time for girls and women in education and work respectively, and jobs created through the production and distribution of stoves and pellets.

The Ecofoyer Guinée clean cooking project aims to make a measurable contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including Climate Action, Affordable and Clean Energy, Good Health and Wellbeing, and Gender Equality.

Ecofoyer Guinée aligns with the ambition of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development to formalise and validate several high‑integrity carbon credit projects operating in different markets and across multiple sectors (forestry, clean cooking, energy). The project is consistent with the Ministry’s other initiatives, including one aiming to establish a carbon pricing mechanism to encourage mining companies to invest in decarbonisation, and another that seeks to assign financial value to emission‑reduction efforts achieved through reforestation or forest conservation (ARR or REDD+ projects).

Rio Tinto’s support, which complements the company’s decarbonisation work, includes a committed offtake of carbon credits from the project. Like all projects we support, Ecofoyer Guinée underwent our due diligence process, which applies our high-integrity criteria for sustainable development and nature positive outcomes.

At full scale, Ecofoyer Guinée is expected to have more than 240,000 cookstoves distributed and in use by 2035 across the four prefectures of Conakry, Beyla, Forécariah and N’Zérékoré, with the potential of expanding countrywide.

About C-NES

Carbon Neutral Energy Systems (C-NES) develops renewable energy, carbon credit, and emissions-mitigation projects across Africa, with a strong focus on supporting hard-to-abate sectors such as mining. Our work spans direct emission reductions, insetting solutions, and high-integrity offset programmes, enabling organisations to meet their Scope 1, 2 and 3 targets with confidence.

We specialise in bioenergy systems, clean-cooking programmes, low-carbon fuels, land-restoration initiatives, and full-cycle carbon project development—from feasibility and implementation to monitoring, verification, and credit issuance. Every project is engineered to deliver measurable climate impact along with operational, economic, and social value.

C-NES’ vision is to be the leading developer of innovative decarbonisation and carbon-credit projects in Africa—serving the mining industry as a core client segment while remaining active across other sectors seeking credible pathways to net-zero. For more information head to www.c-nes.co or send a mail to [email protected]

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive. We have been mining for over 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents.

Our purpose is finding better ways™ to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win and meet opportunities.