Guinea. Economic analysis

Overall reserves of iron ore in Guinea are assessed at 15.6 bln tons, with 40% to 70% iron content. Total explored reserves amount to 4.46 bln tons. A sizeable iron deposit Kalum is located in the Conakry region. A number of occurrences and minor deposits of a relatively low quality were also noticed in the zones of developing Upper Proterozoic and Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. But the biggest and the best iron ore layers were discovered in the Simandou mountain range and on mount Nimba in the south-east of Guinea. Prospecting of the Kalum deposit near Conakry began in 1919. The utilization started in 1953, with an output of 1.2 mln tons a year. Maximum recovery was achieved in 1960 and made up 0.76 mln tons. The extraction continued until 1967 (now the desolate quarries lie within the city line of the growing capital). The deposit is represented by lateritic residuum from 3-5 to 100 meters thick. The residuum developed on Kalum gabbro-ultrabasite rock mass. The section of residuum here is iron ore with producing horizon circa 30-40 meters thick. Total ore reserve of the deposit is assessed at 6 bln tons with average content as follows: F - 53% ; À12O3 - 9% ; SiO2 - 1,5% ; Cr - 1,15% ; Ni - 0,12%. The explored reserve make up 1.48 bln tons. Simandou deposit lies in the mountain range of the same name with a submeridional direction. It is about 200 kilometers long, 30-50 kilometers wide. Jaspilites of Simandou series with big interlayers of hematite, more seldom hematite-magnetite ores are attracted to the axial part of the range. The southern part of the range is most abundant in iron ores. Iron ores can be tracked for many kilometers away, with their broken, intermittent stratums 0.3-3 kilometers long and 200 meters thick. Total reserves of the deposit are estimated to amount to 7 bln tons. Iron content in ore makes up 55-70%. Nimba deposit belongs to the northern part of mountain chain of the same name in South-Eastern Guinea. The ore occurs in Pre-Cambrian quartzes, phyllites, itabirites crushed into isoclinal folds. 4 ore bodies of hematite ores were found in the deposit; two of them (Pierreau-Risheau and Sampere) were studied more elaborately. Total ore reserves are assessed at 2 bln tons, explored reserves of two ore bodies - at 974 mln tons, with iron content of more than 60%.

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