In the heart of the Algerian Sahara desert, the Chinese state-owned giant China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) has completed laying the tracks of the PK330 bridge, the last critical link in a new railway designed to unlock the country’s mineral wealth.
The 6 km (3.7 mile) bridge is part of the 950 km railway linking the iron ore deposit of Gara Djebilet, in the southwest of Tindouf province, to the industrial center of Béchar, in the northeast.
This is “the most technically demanding feat of railway engineering ever achieved in North Africa,” the CRCC said on December 10.
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The ore will be processed in newly created industrial complexes in the region and transported to Mediterranean ports. The bridge, part of Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative, was built in hostile conditions where temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) and shifting sand dunes forced engineers to pour concrete at night to ensure structural integrity.
With the last 60 kilometers of track laid, the entire route should be fully operational by January, according to Algerian officials. It will finally put the Gara Djebilet mine into production, decades after its initial discovery in the 1950s. The mine aims to produce between 2 and 4 million tonnes of iron ore, reaching 50 million tonnes per year by 2040.
Last month, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ordered the immediate commissioning of the rail link – which will facilitate exports from the deposit – and its inauguration in January. The first rail shipments are expected to reach the Tosyali steel complex, 40 km east of the city of Oran, in the first quarter of next year.
Algerian iron ore will come online a few weeks after the start, in early December, of shipments to China from the Guinean Simandou megaproject. Beijing is also expected to step up purchases from across Africa, including Sierra Leone, Cameroon and the Republic of Congo.
Experts said China’s accelerated efforts to develop Africa’s vast iron ore deposits marked a strategic attempt to diversify its supply chains and rely on the pricing power of traditional giants, such as Australia and Brazil, to consolidate its strategic position in the global commodities market.
For example, the Mbalam-Nabeba project, a cross-border “Simandou level” deposit, is moving forward after years of delay following the revocation of permits held by Australian company Sundance Resources. The rights are now managed by China-backed Cameroun Mining Corporation (CMC) and Sangha Mining Development, with support from Bestway Finance, a Hong Kong-based investment vehicle.
State-owned China Railway Construction Corporation has completed track laying of the PK330 bridge. Photo: CRCC alt=State-owned China Railway Construction Corporation has completed track laying on the PK330 bridge. Photo: CRCC>
Although a dedicated rail corridor is still under development, the first exports are expected to reach the Cameroonian port of Kribi early next year, initially using road transport as an interim solution.
W. Gyude Moore, distinguished fellow at the Energy for Growth Hub, said that “mines in Guinea and elsewhere in Africa weaken the ability of any supplying bloc to pressure China on prices, conditions or geopolitics.”
Moore said Simandou, with its high iron content of 65 percent, allowed China to secure raw material for green steel. However, “volumes from Africa will not be enough to replace Australia or Brazil; they will only be able to slightly reduce China’s dependence on them and give it leverage.”
In Sierra Leone, the Leone Rock Metal Group, formerly China’s Kingho Investment Company, took the Tonkolili mine into a new era earlier this year with the completion of major processing infrastructure.
Backed by a $230 million investment, the mine’s beneficiation facilities are designed to increase capacity to 12 million tonnes of iron concentrate at 66 percent per annum by next year. A $300 million financial package secured from the China Overseas Engineering Group (COVEC) in July will finance the expansion of infrastructure and enrichment facilities at the Tonkolili North field.
Yahia Zoubir, professor of international studies and non-resident senior fellow at the Middle East World Affairs Council in Doha, Qatar, said the “heavy reliance on two suppliers – Australia in particular – creates geopolitical and supply chain vulnerabilities.”
By diversifying, “China seeks to rebalance its power in the global iron ore market, not replace existing suppliers,” he said, describing this as “geoeconomic risk management – diversifying supply, diluting supplier dominance and integrating new producers into China-centric value chains.”
He said he expected African projects to eventually supply 10 to 15 percent of Chinese imports, potentially reducing Australia’s share to 50 to 55 percent. However, “infrastructure constraints and political risks mean that African minerals will function as a strategic complement rather than a substitute”, with Australia and Brazil remaining more profitable.
According to sub-Saharan Africa geoeconomic analyst Aly-Khan Satchu, Africa’s supply of iron ore is a “game changer”, adding that the ore “reduces Australia’s influence over China and increases Chinese influence exponentially”.
“China is now a serious insurgent in global commodity markets and is no longer the price-absorber but the price-giver,” Satchu said. “Iron ore was the last penny to lose; precious metals were, of course, the first.”
Lauren Johnston, a China and Africa specialist and senior fellow at the AustChina Institute, said a decade of trade tensions with Australia had allowed African alternatives to emerge.
“Africa’s iron ore assets strengthen Sino-African ties and act as insurance for China, providing a vital strategic hedge against its heavy reliance on traditional suppliers, particularly Australia,” Johnston said.
She noted that this strategy was supported by the creation in 2022 of the China Mineral Resources Group, which manages supplies to the steel industry. Johnston questioned whether the ore would be exported or reserved for local use, noting that unlike Australia during its iron ore boom with China, African demand for steel to drive urbanization and industrialization had not yet peaked.
She said Beijing was seeking to secure supplies for its own manufacturing program ahead of other investors.
“China wants to block supplies before other investors can, or perhaps stockpile ore.”
Ultimately, Zoubir said, “African iron ore will not upend China’s import structure, but it will significantly improve bargaining power, resilience and strategic autonomy in a market long dominated by a narrow supplier base.”
