Biodiversity and iron ore
The Pic de Fon Forest lies in the Simandou mountain range of Guinea, a developing country in west Africa. It is an area of rich biodiversity designated as a priority conservation area that provides an important habitat for many endemic species.
Over 50 per cent of the frog species found in the region are endemic to the Upper Guinea forest, it is an important bird habitat, and is also haven for 21 species of bat - one of which was discovered in west Africa for the first time only recently. The organisation Conservation International (CI) describes the region as being within the "Guinean forest hotspot" which ranks top for mammalian diversity among the world's 25 "hotspots", and is among the two highest priority regions in the world for primate conservation.
This environment has unfortunately been subject to slash and burn agriculture and artisanal mining, and the region is threatened by a high rate of deforestation. Vegetation cover in the Pic de Fon classified forest is estimated to have decreased from 54 per cent of the land area to 26 per cent between 1951 and 1998.
But for the discovery of iron ore in Simandou, these ecological facts would probably not have come to light. The surveys that yielded knowledge of the region's conservation values were carried out by Conservation International on behalf of Rio Tinto. While exploration work uncovered one billion tonnes of high quality iron ore, information was being collected for a programme of sustainable development to suit the specific location, environment, community and commodity.
Rio Tinto helped finance a forest management programme involving the Guinean Government, and established the partnership arrangement with Conservation International to help preserve the unique biodiversity of the region.
In 2004 a project team started a US$22 million pre-feasibility study into development of an iron ore mine. For Simandou to become a mine Rio Tinto will have to find solutions that benefit the community, the political objectives of the government, public opinion and the objectives of NGOs and organisations like the World Bank on regional development, poverty alleviation and long term environmental management.
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