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Fortescue says it wants to be shipping iron ore from Africa by 2030, a pledge that lands as Gabon prepares a sweeping review of mining deals signed over the past decade and a half. Company officials say the goal is achievable.
The Australian miner is developing the Belinga iron ore project in northeast Gabon through a joint venture with the government and local partner Ivindo Iron. Ivindo Iron says Belinga has moved through an early production phase, with the first cargo exported in December 2023, while work continues on studies meant to support a larger scale operation.
Gabon’s President Brice Oligui Nguema has ordered full publication of mining agreements and an audit of contracts signed between 2010 and 2024, according to government statements. The plan is linked to efforts to strengthen governance while Gabon seeks a new program with the International Monetary Fund after the 2023 coup disrupted earlier lending.
Fortescue Executive Chairman Andrew Forrest has described Belinga as a long term investment that could supply higher grade material for lower carbon steelmaking. The company has told investors it is pursuing an integrated mine, rail and port solution, with first shipments from that full build targeted for 2030.
A timetable matters in a market already watching Guinea’s Simandou project, which analysts expect to ramp toward the end of the decade and reshape seaborne supply. New African tonnage would also arrive as major miners in Australia and Brazil try to defend market share while steelmakers demand cleaner inputs.
Belinga sits in Ogooue Ivindo province, an area Ivindo Iron says is home to about 25,000 people. Supporters of the project say new infrastructure could bring jobs and transport links to remote communities, though large corridors can also raise concerns over land, forests and community consent.
The audit in Libreville is another reminder that political risk can follow big resource bets. Investors will be watching whether Gabon uses the review to renegotiate fiscal terms, tighten compliance or simply validate existing agreements. Fortescue’s 2021 entry into Belinga came through a deal to study and develop the deposit, one of the world’s large undeveloped hematite prospects, according to earlier company disclosures.
Fortescue did not disclose a budget or shipping profile for the 2030 target. Any expansion beyond pilot output would depend on financing, permitting and construction in a country where logistics have long been the hardest part of the equation.
