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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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Rio Tinto awards contract to Guinean supplier SOLENE to provide training facility with renewable energy system

November 13, 2023

Conakry, Republic of Guinea ─ Rio Tinto has engaged the Guinean company SOLENE, a supplier of power solutions, to install a solar energy system at Vocational Training Centre (CFP) in Beyla. The system will combine photovoltaic panels, batteries and generators to guarantee a reliable and sustainable power supply for the site.. It will supply power for training equipment such as welding machines. It will also provide electricity needed to pump water from the site’s artesian water source, ensuring that the instructors and students are well supplied with drinking water.

As a reminder, the CFP’s mission was defined in an agreement signed in 2022 between Rio Tinto, the Ministry of Technical Education, Vocational Training, Employment and Labour, and the recruitment firm Trust Africa. It enables 400 young Guineans each year to receive training in areas such as masonry, plumbing, electricity, welding, HVAC engineering (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and car mechanics. Individuals trained by the CFP develop skills that enable them to work both on the Simandou project and for other players and projects in the mining and infrastructure sectors.

In line with Rio Tinto’s commitment to local content and the transfer of skills, the installation of solar and power equipment will be used as a learning exercise for Electrical Trainees and CFP Teachers. SOLENE will organise training sessions to ensure that maintenance procedures are well taught and understood by the students, who will carry out the maintenance of the solar panels and electrical equipment themselves.

Thanks to this new contract, SOLENE joins our network of nearly 300 Guinean companies providing Rio Tinto with a wide range of goods and services, from engineering and construction expertise to sanitation and catering, as well as setting up camps and offices. In the first half of 2023, Rio Tinto spent over $265 million with Guinean owned and operated companies (compared to $31.5 million for the full year 2022), reflecting an acceleration of construction efforts. Rio Tinto and its subcontractors now employ more than 4,800 people in Guinea, 84% of whom are Guineans, working on the construction of the mine and rail infrastructure.

Boubacar Sow, CEO of SOLENE, said: “This project illustrates Rio Tinto’s trust in renewable energy solutions to meet critical energy needs. We are particularly grateful for the confidence Rio Tinto has placed in local companies, and this project will help SOLENE to scale up its capacity, thanks to the support provided by Rio Tinto, which began even before the contract was signed.”

Sory Camara, an electrical engineering student at the CFP in Beyla, said: “With the support of Rio Tinto, CFP Beyla has provided a second chance to people like me who didn’t graduate. Today, I’m proud to say that I have a profession that enables me to support my family. The enhanced study conditions will encourage even more local young people to pursue vocational training at Beyla CFP and to seize the opportunities offered by the Simandou project.”

Samuel Gahigi, Managing Director of Rio Tinto in Guinea, said: “Rio Tinto is committed to sourcing 100% of unskilled labour on-site from the communities around the project area. The transfer of skills is a critical facet of realising the full potential of the Simandou project for Guinea. The facility at Beyla – where we will be upskilling 400 young Guineans every year – will now be supplied with a reliable, sustainable source of energy, and we are honoured to award this contract to a Guinean supplier.“