Gabon Grants Fortescue Headquarters Land Title as President Calls for Bélinga Mine and Railway to Advance Together
The Presidency has set coordinated delivery as the test for Bélinga, stating that the mine cannot be separated from the mineral railway, port and power infrastructure it depends on. That places the railway inside the project's delivery requirement rather than behind it.
The land title for Fortescue's headquarters is the only concrete step the statement records. The next measure will be whether the railway and the other components reach a confirmed stage against the deadlines the President referred to.
- Gabon's President has called for the Bélinga iron ore project's mine, railway, port and power components to advance simultaneously.
- President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema received the head of Fortescue and a delegation of the parties involved in delivering the project.
- Fortescue restated that Bélinga is an integrated project covering mining, a mineral railway, port infrastructure and power generation.
- Ahead of the meeting, the President handed Fortescue the land title for the construction of its headquarters.
- The presidency said the land title will allow Fortescue and Ivindo Iron to strengthen their operational presence in Gabon.
- The President acknowledged Fortescue's programme training young Gabonese in Australia and said nationals should progressively fill the project's technical, operational and management posts.
Gabon's President, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, has called on Fortescue and its partners in the Bélinga iron ore project to advance the mine, the mineral railway, the port infrastructure and the power generation component simultaneously, after receiving the head of Fortescue and a delegation of the parties involved in delivering the project.
According to the Presidency of the Gabonese Republic, the meeting opened with a presentation by Fortescue and its partners on their international experience. Using a series of scale models, the delegation set out for the Head of State and members of the Government the work it has carried out worldwide in the mining, rail, port and energy sectors, together with its training and skills development initiatives.
Fortescue restated its commitment to developing Bélinga as an integrated project built around four components: mining, a mineral railway, port infrastructure and power generation.
The President told the delegation that the time had come for execution. After more than six decades of waiting, he said, Bélinga must move from announcements to concrete delivery, in strict accordance with the commitments made and the deadlines announced. The presidency's statement does not set out those deadlines.
He asked all the partners to move the components of the project forward in a simultaneous and coordinated way, stating that exploitation of the deposit cannot be separated from the rail, port and power infrastructure on which its development depends.
Ahead of the meeting, the President formally handed Fortescue the land title for the construction of its headquarters. The presidency said the decision will allow Fortescue and Ivindo Iron to strengthen their operational presence in Gabon over the long term.
The President also placed human capital, training and the employability of young Gabonese at the centre of his priorities, and acknowledged the programme Fortescue is running to train young Gabonese in Australia. In his view, Gabonese nationals should progressively take up the technical, operational and management posts the project creates, and Bélinga should become a source of jobs and opportunities for young people while supporting the growth of Gabonese companies, subcontracting and new economic activity in the areas concerned.
Beyond mining, the presidency said, the project is expected to help open up isolated areas, deliver major infrastructure and create new centres of development. The stated ambition is for Bélinga to serve not only as an iron ore operation but as a driver of industrialisation, job creation and skills transfer in the Gabonese economy.
