A consortium led by China's state-owned steel producer China Baowu Steel Group Corp. Ltd. has acquired shares of the long-stalled Simandou iron ore project in Guinea and is looking to raise about US$6 billion for a fund to develop it, Mining.com wrote June 23 citing a Caixin Global report that used unnamed sources.

The company took over the project from Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., or Chalco, in cooperation with other steelmakers in a bid to develop the supply of iron ore for steel production.

Caixin noted that no details of the share purchase have been released by the companies.

Baowu is trying to get other steel firms in China to invest in the project fund, Caixin added.

The total development cost of the project, including the mine and infrastructure, is estimated by Baowu at over US$15 billion.