SimFer begins staged commissioning at Morebaya port

SimFer has begun commissioning key infrastructure at its Morebaya port facilities in Guinea, the joint venture announced on September 8, 2026. The work covers stockyard and export equipment, including stacker-reclaimers and shiploaders used to move, store and load iron ore. The venture brings together Guinea’s government, Rio Tinto and the Chinalco-led CIOH consortium. It said ore continued to travel by rail from its mine and to leave through the WCS port while construction and commissioning of SimFer’s own facilities were being completed. Port and marine infrastructure stood at 85% completion at the end of the first half of 2026. Overall commissioning was expected in the first quarter of 2027, rather than being completed at the time of the announcement. SimFer said the finished port would form part of shared infrastructure supporting exports of 120 million tonnes of iron ore annually from the Simandou mines. That figure describes the wider export system, not current throughput at this newly commissioned equipment. Chief operating officer Kox Gomba said the staged work would prioritise safe completion and the required technical standards as operations progressively ramped up. The company also reported that activity had continued through the rainy season, supported by planning and cooperation among delivery teams. The newly tested equipment is intended to connect the stockyard’s handling functions with the marine export facilities. Nexus analysis: The distinction between ore already exported through WCS and SimFer’s unfinished port matters: existing shipments demonstrate use of an alternative route, not completion of the dedicated terminal. The next stated milestone is overall port commissioning in early 2027.