(Bloomberg) -- A Rio Tinto Plc unit signed a $277 million agreement to buy locomotives from Wabtec Corp. to transport iron ore from Guinea’s Simandou deposit, the world’s biggest untapped reserves of the mineral.
The companies signed the deal in the capital, Conakry, on the second anniversary of the Compagnie du TransGuinéen, a transport joint venture that’s 15% owned by Guinea’s government, and 42.5% equally held by a Rio Tinto grouping with Chinese investors known as Simfer, and China-backed Winning Consortium Simandou, Simfer said in an emailed statement.
In October, Simandou’s shareholders signed new investment agreements for the construction of 600 kilometers (372 miles) of rail lines and port facilities needed to develop the deposit.
Simfer is a joint venture formed by Rio Tinto, Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., known as Chinalco, and the Guinean government.
The company didn’t disclose the number of locomotives and the time frame for delivery.
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