The Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) share price is in the green today amid the company striking a deal on a huge iron deposit.
The mining giant's shares are currently swapping hands at $119.32, a 2.1% gain. In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.21% today.
The S&P/ASX 200 Resources Index (ASX: XJR) is also up 1.47% at the time of writing. Meantime, the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is 1.91% higher so far today. The gains coincide with the iron ore price jumping 2.82% in a day, Trading Economics data reveals.
Let's take a look at what is happening at Rio Tinto.
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Deal struck
Rio Tinto has struck a deal with Guinea's ruling junta on the massive Simandou iron ore deposit in the West African nation.
The agreement also includes the Aluminium Corp of China and SMB-Winning consortium, Reuters reported.
The project had recently been halted by Guinea's military rulers who took control of the country in September. The iron ore deposit is said to hold more than 2 billion tonnes of high-grade ore.
Mines Minister Moussa Magassouba said on television, the companies "put aside many egos, many other interests to return to what is a win-win partnership for all parties".
Rio Tinto owns a 45.05% stake in the southern half of the Simandou deposit, known as blocks three and four.
Commenting on the project, Rio Tinto Guinea country head Geraud Moussarie described the deal as "a historic step in the co-development of the Simandou project", Reuters reported.
The agreement involves developing a 670 km railway from the Simandou site to a deepwater port at a cost of $15 billion.
Rio share price snapshot
The Rio Tinto share price is up 19% this year to date, gaining nearly 8% in the past 12 months.
In the past month, Rio Tinto shares have climbed by more than 4% and are up 8% over the past week alone.
For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up nearly 9% in the past 12 months.
Rio has a market capitalisation of about $44 billion based on its current share price.
