| Simandou | |
|---|---|
 Forest in the Simandou chain | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,656 m (5,433 ft) |
| Prominence | 1,104 m (3,622 ft)[1] |
| Listing | Ribu |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 110 km (68 mi) |
| Geography | |
  Simandou | |
| Country | Guinea |
| Region | Nzérékoré |
| Range coordinates | 08°32′N08°54′W / 8.533°N 8.900°W /8.533; -8.900 |
Simandou is a 110-kilometre-long (68 mi) range of hills located in theNzérékoré andKankan regions of southeasternGuinea, in the country's mountainous, forestedGuinée Forestière region. At the southern end of the range the site of a largeiron ore deposit is currently being developed.[2]
The Simandou Range extends north and south, it is located east ofBanankoro andKérouané, from southernKankan Region into northernNzérékoré Region. The highest point is Pic de Fon, elevation 1,658 m (5,440 ft), in the southern portion of the range.[3] Other peaks include Pic de Tibé, elevation 1,504 m (4,934 ft), is located at the center of the range, and Pic de Going, 1,431 m (4,695 ft), to the north.[4][5]
The Simandou Range consists of a sequence of deformeditabirites,phyllites, andquartzites withinProterozoicbasement rocks.[6]
The Simandou Range is an important area of conservation for theGuinean forest ecosystem of West Africa, one of the world's biologically richest and most endangered terrestrial ecosystems. TheUpper Guinean forests ecosystem, of which the Simandou Range forms part of, extends across southern Guinea,Sierra Leone,Liberia, southernCôte d’Ivoire,Ghana, and westernTogo. It is believed to have once covered as much as 420,000 km2 (160,000 sq mi), but over centuries of human activity, nearly 70 percent of the original forest cover has disappeared, leaving isolated patches of different forest types that host ecological communities of exceptional diversity and numerous endemic species.[7]
The variety of habitats found in the Simandou Range include humid Guineansavanna,Western Guinean lowland forest,montane andgallery forests, and the rare and endangered West Africanmontane grassland habitat. The Pic de Fon forest at the southern end of the range is a relatively intact area of approximately 25,600 ha that contains many typical flora and fauna of theGuinean montane forests ecosystem, including endangered species such as theNimba otter shrew (Micropotamogale lamottei), theWest African chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus), theDiana monkey (Cercopithecus diana diana) and theSierra Leone prinia (Schistolais leontica), a bird of the West African highlands known from only three other sites in the world.[7] FrogHylarana fonensis is known from nowhere else.[8]
The area has so far been protected by relative isolation but itsbiodiversity is now threatened by the encroachment of agriculture, unregulatedbushmeat hunting,logging, uncontrolled bush fires, road development, destructive mining operations by foreign companies and human population growth. Government agencies' lack of capacity to enforce environmental legislation increases the threat.Land tenure conflicts and ecologically destructivesubsistence farming practices (slash and burn agriculture), exacerbated by poverty, also pose problems for the environment.[7]
The range has two classified forests: Pic de Fon, designated in 1953, with an area of 256 km2, and Pic de Tibé, designated in 1945, with an area of 60.75 km2.[9]
Simandou has the potential to become the site of the largest integrated iron-ore mine and infrastructure project ever developed in Africa, consisting of a large new source of iron ore and creating a 650 km new railway to the Guinean coast atMatakong.[10] However, the potentially lucrative blocks I and II were mired for several years later in litigation of possible corruption. This corruption, which occurred through the use of bribery involved two Western foreign companies -Rio Tinto, a British-Australian company andBSGR.[citation needed] Around 2015, the mining project seemed to have been sidelined due to dwindling global iron demand.[11] However, a version of the full original mining project was re-instated in late 2019[12] and confirmed in 2020 with the signing of a new agreement[13] with the Chinese companySMB-Winning.
There is a town of the same name in nearbyCôte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast).
This town is not to be confused with Siamandou further to the west.