Fortescue still bullish on Gabon iron ore dream in wake of coup
Fortescue’s global growth executive, Julie Shuttleworth, will meet the new leaders of Gabon “imminently” in the wake of last month’s military coup.
Gabonese President Ali Bongo was deposed on August 30 by a military junta, which in effect ended more than half a century of rule by the Bongo family.
Gabon is home to Fortescue’s newest iron ore project at Belinga, where first ore has already been dug, according to its July production report. Transporting the ore to the coast is the bigger challenge, and Fortescue had planned to export the ore before the end of the year.
Fortescue’s Julie Shuttleworth will soon meet with Gabon’s new leaders. Trevor Collens
Fortescue mining boss Dino Otranto said all Fortescue staff in Gabon are safe and early signs indicate that the political turbulence will have little impact on daily life in the African nation.
“As far as coups go, this has been non-violent, it has been an orderly transition,” he said. “I have lived in Africa before for a few years and a good marker is how quickly services get re-established and they didn’t miss a beat; the airports were open, Eramet the manganese supplier was producing almost the next day.
“We didn’t miss a beat; we have opened our Libraville office, which is where the coup happened.”
Mr Otranto said Fortescue is watching the situation closely and familiar with those who led the coup.
“We have got great relationships with them all, Julie Shuttleworth is meeting them all imminently, I am travelling over there pretty soon as well to meet the team on the ground,” he said.
The Gabon government has rights to a 10 per cent stake in the Belinga project,without having to fund its equivalent share of construction costs.
“It will be a significant contributor to the
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