In the heart of the Algerian Sahara Desert, Chinese state-owned giant China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) has completed laying the PK330 bridge, the final and crucial link in a new railway aimed at unlocking the country’s mineral wealth.
The 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) bridge is part of a 950-kilometer railway linking the iron ore mines of Garajbilet in the southwest of Tindouf province to the industrial center of Bechar in the northeast.
The CRCC said on December 10 that it was “the most technically demanding feat of railway engineering ever undertaken in North Africa”.
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The ore will be processed at a new industrial park in the area before being shipped to Mediterranean ports. The bridge, part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, was built in harsh conditions, with temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), shifting sand dunes and engineers pouring concrete at night to ensure structural integrity.
With the final 60 kilometers of track laid, the entire route is expected to be fully operational in January, Algerian officials said. Decades after it was first discovered in the 1950s, the Gara Djebilet mine will finally enter production. The mine aims to produce 2 million to 4 million tons of iron ore, with annual production eventually reaching 50 million tons by 2040.
Last month, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ordered the railway line, which will ease the export of reserves, to be “put into service immediately” and open in January. The first rail cargo is expected to arrive at the Tosyali steel complex 40 kilometers east of the city of Oran in the first quarter of next year.
Algerian iron ore will be shipped to China from the massive Simandou project in Guinea starting in early December, with it expected to come online within weeks. Beijing is also expected to increase purchases from across Africa, particularly Sierra Leone, Cameroon and the Republic of Congo.
Experts say China’s accelerated development of Africa’s vast iron ore deposits marks a strategic move to diversify its supply chain and leverage the pricing power of traditional powers such as Australia and Brazil to ensure its strategic position in the global commodity market.
For example, the Mbalam-Nabeba project, a cross-border “Simandou-scale” deposit, is now progressing after years of delays after a license held by Australia’s Sundance Resources was revoked. The rights are currently managed by China-backed Cameroon Mining Company (CMC) and Sangha Mining Development, and are backed by Hong Kong-based investment vehicle Bestway Finance.
State-owned China Railway Construction has completed track laying work on the PK330 bridge. Photo: CRCC alt=State-owned China Railway Construction has completed track laying work on the PK330 bridge. Image source: China Railway Construction>
While the dedicated rail corridor is still under development, the first exports are expected to arrive at the Cameroonian port of Kribi early next year, initially using road transport as a stopgap measure.
“The mines in Guinea and elsewhere in Africa reduce the ability of any one supply group to squeeze China on price, terms or geopolitics,” said W. Gyude Moore, a distinguished fellow at the Center for Growth Energy.
Moore said that Simandu’s iron content is as high as 65%, allowing China to obtain raw materials for green steel. However, “African exports are not large enough to displace Australia or Brazil; they can only slightly reduce China’s dependence on them and give it influence”.
In Sierra Leone, Leone Rock Metal Group (formerly Chinese-owned Qinghua Investment Company) completed construction of major processing infrastructure earlier this year, ushering the Tonkolili mine into a new era.
Backed by a $230 million investment, the mine’s beneficiation facility plans to expand capacity to 12 million tonnes per year of 66% iron ore concentrate by next year. In July, China Overseas Engineering Corporation (COVEC) secured a $300 million financing package to fund the expansion of infrastructure and processing facilities at the Tonkolili North deposit.
Yahya Zubir, professor of international studies and non-resident senior fellow at the Council on Middle East Global Affairs in Doha, Qatar, said “heavy reliance on two suppliers – especially Australia – creates geopolitical and supply chain vulnerabilities”.
Through diversification, “China seeks to rebalance power in the global iron ore market rather than displace existing suppliers,” he said, describing it as “geoeconomic risk management – supply diversification, weakening supplier dominance and embedding new producers into China-centric value chains”.
He said African projects were expected to eventually supply 10 to 15 per cent of China’s imports, which could reduce Australia’s share to 50 to 55 per cent. However, “infrastructure constraints and political risks mean African ore will act as a strategic complement rather than a substitute” as Australia and Brazil remain more cost-effective.
Sub-Saharan Africa geo-economic analyst Aly-Khan Satchu said the African iron ore supply story was a “game changer”, adding that iron ore “undermines Australia’s influence over China and exponentially increases China’s influence”.
“China is now a serious disruptor in global commodity markets, no longer a price taker but a price giver,” Sachu said. “Iron ore was the latest penny to fall; precious metals were certainly the first to fall.”
Lauren Johnston, an expert on China-Africa issues and senior fellow at the Australia China Institute, said a decade of trade tensions with Australia has allowed African alternatives to emerge.
“Iron ore assets in Africa both boost China-Africa relations and act as insurance for China, providing an important strategic hedge against China’s heavy reliance on traditional suppliers, particularly Australia,” Johnston said.
She noted that this strategy is supported by the China Mineral Resources Group, established in 2022 to manage supply to the steel industry. Johnston questions whether the ore will be exported or retained for local use, noting that unlike Australia during its iron ore boom with China, urbanization and industrialization driven by demand for steel in Africa have not yet reached their peak.
Beijing aims to secure supplies for its own manufacturing industry before other investors do, she said.
“China wants to limit supply or possibly store the ore before other investors do.”
Ultimately, Zubir said, “African iron ore will not subvert China’s import structure, but will significantly enhance the bargaining power, flexibility and strategic autonomy of a market that has long been dominated by narrow suppliers.”
