Keefe opens with a description of a massive naturally-occurring iron ore deposit in Simandou, Guinea. Global demand for iron is high, but there are logistical challenges to the mine’s future. Guinea is impoverished and underdeveloped, and mining infrastructure and transport is complex and expensive to build. Some experts compare Guinea’s situation to “a new scramble for Africa” (286), an analogy to previous European competition for colonies, though now the draw is minerals. But Guinea’s situation also presents an opportunity to move on from a past of exploitation: If the mine could be properly managed, its wealth could transform the lives of ordinary citizens rather than those of elites and foreign investors.

The competition for iron extraction contracts is limited to a small range of companies. The original mining concession was granted to an Anglo-Australian company, Rio Tinto, in 2008, but the Guinean government was not satisfied with the pace of work. In 2009, rights were resold to Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR). Its owner and leader Beny Steinmetz is an Israeli businessman, who made his $9 billion fortune in diamonds. Rio Tinto strongly protested the deal because of Steinmetz’s inexperience, noting it was entirely possible Steinmetz would sell the mine rather than develop it.