Rio Tinto has awarded a contract to Takraf to deliver an integrated in-pit crushing and conveying (IPCC) service for the Simandou iron ore complex in Guinea.

Under the contract, Takraf will be responsible for the design, fabrication and delivery of an advanced and integrated IPCC and material handling system for the Simandou project.

The scope of the contract includes two primary IPCC systems featuring two Takraf X-TREME-class sizers to crush extracted ore, as well as a secondary IPCC system comprising four Takraf sizers for further ore processing.

Takraf will also deliver two rail-mounted stackers for ore stockpiling, two rail-mounted reclaimers for ore reclaiming, two wagon loading stations with buffer silos, electrical and control equipment, and stockyard auxiliaries.

Furthermore, Takraf will deliver a complex conveyor system with transfer stations.

Takraf Group CEO Thomas Jabs said: “First and foremost, this is an important project for the country of Guinea and we are proud to play our part.

“Secondly, as steel producers adopt various initiatives to reduce their carbon emissions, the demand for lower-impurity and higher-grade iron ore – essential feedstock for steel production – is growing. Simandou’s premium quality ore will thus play an important role in the global energy transition.”

The crushing system will have a design capacity of up to 13,200 tonnes per hour, to enable a production rate of 60mtpa.

Takraf said that a separate contract for technical assistance for system installation and commissioning as well as for assistance in maintenance and spare parts supply will be concluded.

Located in south-east Guinea, the Simandou mine is estimated to hold more than four billion tonnes of ore, making it the world’s largest known deposit of its kind.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported that the Guinean Government and Rio Tinto resumed work on infrastructure to restart the mine.