Guinea sets deadline for Rio's ore blocks

Rio Tinto has untilsmall scale mining equipment suppliers in switzerland February to formally give up its rights to part of Guinea's giant Simandou iron ore concession or it will risk losing its remaining stakes, the West African state's top mining official said. The Anglo-Australian miner, which has invested $680 million in what it says is the world's largest undeveloped iron ore deposit, has been in dispute with Guinea over blocks 1 and 2, which the government gave to BSG Resources.

"We have asked in vain for Rio Tinto to give us written confirmation (that) they have given up half of Simandou in accordance with the mining code," Mines Minister Mahmoud Thiam told Reuters in an interview late on Friday. "If this isn't done by February 2011, Rio risks losing the other two blocks under its control and could definitively lose its rights to the zone," he said. A Rio spokesman declined to comment specifically on the two blocks but said, "We continue to engage with the Guinean government on a range of matters and are committed to developing the project and realising the benefits for the people of Guinea...