Algeria opens 600-mile railway to tap vast iron ore deposit

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune inaugurated a 950-kilometer (590-mile) railway built in collaboration with China that’s key to exploiting vast iron-ore deposits in a bid to diversify the OPEC member’s economy.

The step gives the green light for the first shipments of ore from the Gara Djebilet mine in the western desert near the Moroccan border — a project mooted for decades. Feraal, a subsidiary of Algeria’s state miner Sonarem, and China’s Sinosteel are among companies involved in the broader project.

The new line, built by Algerian state firms and China Rail Construction Corp., connects the distant mine with the cities of Tindouf and Bechar. From there, an existing railway links to the Mediterranean coast and the city of Oran, where Turkey’s Tosyali Holding operates a steel complex.

The official opening — aired live Sunday on Algerian state TV — comes as the North African nation that’s a major gas supplier to Europe focuses on developing its mining industry. Hydrocarbons typically account for more than three-quarters of Algerian exports and about half of state revenue, making it vulnerable to volatile energy prices and in search of other income streams.

(By Salah Slimani)