Post #344

$10 Million for the World’s Largest Deposit [ Budget Hole ] 📍 In the second half of the 2010s, one of the world’s largest iron ore deposits in Guinea was given to a company with no experience in mining. The price of the deal:$10 million for the president’s wife. ✡️ Between 2006 and 2010, the Israeli businessman Beny Steinmetz and his company BSGR were in a collecting mood. They were gathering licenses for the Simandou deposit and nearby iron ore fields in southeastern Guinea. ✅ To make their collection truly complete, they needed to intercept certain rights already held by another company. So in 2008, Steinmetz approached the young wife of President Lansana Conté, Mamadie Touré, and offered her about $10 million. 🏷Brief background: 🔴Today, the Simandou deposit — one of the largest in the world — is being operated by a consortium of Chinese firms and the Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto. The first shipment of iron ore, around 200 thousand tons, was sent to China in early December 2025. 🔴According to forecasts, once at full capacity, Simandou will be able to export up to 120 million tons of ore per year, which will increase global seaborne supply by almost 9%. 🌟 The magical effect of the First Lady worked, and the president, already literally on his deathbed, signed a decree stripping several licenses from the Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto and awarding them to BSGR, which had no experience working with iron ore. 💰 In 2010, Steinmetz, satisfied and having invested only around $170 million into the entire venture, sold 51% of his assets to a company called Vale for $2.5 billion. 🔴 The story surfaced thanks to a change of power in Guinea. In November 2010, a new president, Alpha Condé, came to office. He decided to clean up after his predecessor and revoked all rights held by both BSGR and Vale. 🇨🇭 At the same time, in 2013, at Guinea’s request, a legal case was opened in Switzerland. Although in 2019 Steinmetz and the Guinean government, with the mediation of French president Sarkozy, resolved their disputes (again in a not transparent way), in January 2021 a Geneva court sentenced Steinmetz to five years in prison. #BudgetHole ➡️ Follow to stay informed - @devilsbelow