• Ivanhoe Atlantic finished environmental and social impact studies for its Kon Kweni iron ore project.
• NGOs warn the mine threatens a UNESCO World Heritage biosphere home to critically endangered West African chimpanzees.
• Ivanhoe targets first production in 2027 and aims to secure permits by early 2026.

US mining company Ivanhoe Atlantic said on Thursday, October 23, that it completed the environmental and social impact studies (ESIA) for its Kon Kweni iron ore project. The company has not yet published results. Previous reports raised concerns over developing a mine inside a UNESCO World Heritage biosphere reserve.

Ivanhoe Atlantic conducted the ESIA for the project’s first phase. The company targets initial production of 2 million tonnes of high-grade iron ore per year and plans to expand to 5 million tonnes per year. It said it assessed risks and identified mitigation measures “to avoid, reduce and restore any potential impacts deriving from the development.”

Authorities must now review the ESIA before granting permits. NGOs already argue that the proposed measures remain insufficient. Formerly called the “Nimba Iron Ore Mine,” Kon Kweni lies in Guinea Forestière, in the country’s southeast. The area includes Mount Nimba, whose dense forest hosts the critically endangered West African chimpanzee. UNESCO listed the reserve as a World Heritage site in danger in 1992 due to mining threats.

“Guinea only has one World Heritage Site but many iron ore mining permits […] Mining companies have not demonstrated that mitigation measures effectively reduce their impacts on biodiversity. Most mining damage is essentially permanent,” said Genevieve Campbell, a member of an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) task force.

Business Versus Biodiversity

Campbell and several environmental groups signed a letter in July 2025. They urged Guinea’s government to enforce a renewable five-year moratorium on all mining activities, including exploration, inside the Nimba biosphere reserve. They said the pause would allow a deeper assessment of biodiversity risks and the completion of a long-term management plan.

Authorities have confronted similar tensions before. In 2021, Australian miner Predictive Discovery found a major gold deposit at Bankan, inside a buffer zone of Guinea’s Haut Niger National Park. A June 2025 feasibility study said Bankan could deliver around 250,000 ounces per year for more than 12 years. At current gold prices, that output exceeds $1 billion in annual value.

Despite concerns about impacts on wildlife, authorities granted an environmental permit. Predictive said in January 2025 that the permit bans mining activity inside the park’s buffer zone.

Ivanhoe Atlantic expects a government decision on Nimba soon. It aims to begin mine construction in Q1 2026 and start production in 2027. The company would launch operations roughly two years after Simandou, Guinea’s giant iron ore project with targeted output of 120 million tonnes per year starting at the end of 2025.

This article was initially published in French by Emiliano Tossou 

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum