Guinea: Ivanhoe Atlantic’s show of force under the wing of former US ambassadors

The American-Canadian billionaire Robert Friedland, founder and chairman of Ivanhoe Atlantic, is continuing to strengthen the governance of his Guinean subsidiary by appointing several high-profile American figures to the board of directors of the Société des Mines de Fer de Guinée (SMFG). This decision comes as the group prepares to commence construction work on its Kon Kweni iron ore project (also known as Nimba), one of the highest-grade iron ore deposits in the world.

According to an official statement released by Ivanhoe Atlantic in late March 2026, Ambassador (retired) Patricia Moller, who has been a board member since 2019, has been appointed Chair of the Board of Directors of SMFG. She is joined by four new non-executive directors:

• Ambassador (retired) Dr J. Peter Pham, Executive Chairman and Acting CEO of Ivanhoe Atlantic, former US Special Envoy for the Great Lakes and the Sahel;
• Ambassador (retired) Tibor P. Nagy Jr., former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and former US Ambassador to Guinea and Ethiopia;
• Bradley Doig, Chief Operating Officer of I-Pulse Inc. (the majority shareholder of Ivanhoe Atlantic) and a former executive at Billiton/BHP;
• Kevin McLean, Chief Operating Officer of Ivanhoe Atlantic, with over 30 years’ experience in the iron ore sector, notably at Rio Tinto, Fortescue and in Guinea with Alufer Mining (Bel Air project).

These appointments, which will be confirmed at the next general meeting of shareholders, are intended to bring high-level diplomatic, geopolitical and operational expertise to the project, at a time when Ivanhoe Atlantic is seeking to obtain the final environmental and construction permits from the Guinean authorities.

The Kon Kweni project, located in south-eastern Guinea near the Liberian border, has an estimated resource of 751.9 million tonnes of Direct Ship Ore (DSO), including 209 million tonnes of very high-grade ore (>67% Fe). SMFG is 85% owned by Ivanhoe Atlantic and 15% by the Guinean government. The group plans to commence construction in 2026 and begin exports in 2027, with an initial production target of 5 million tonnes per year.

Ivanhoe Atlantic is banking on the Liberty Corridor, an independent logistics corridor passing through Liberia (the Yekepa–Buchanan railway and the Port of Buchanan), to export ore to Western markets, positioning the project as a ‘pro-Western’ alternative to infrastructure dominated by Chinese interests, notably the Simandou mega-project.

These appointments come following the departure of former CEO Bronwyn Barnes in early 2026 and as the group moves forward with the agreement ratified with Liberia in late 2025. The project is expected to generate approximately $16.7 billion in revenue for the Guinean government over the mine’s lifetime.

With these high-profile appointments, Robert Friedland – known for his major successes in the mining sector (notably through Ivanhoe Mines) – is clearly strengthening the strategic and diplomatic dimension of his operations in Guinea, in a highly sensitive sector where geopolitical considerations carry significant weight.