The project will be the Japanese company’s first desalination plant and it is estimated to require an investment of around $623 million (70 billion Yen).
Arnoud Balhuizen, head of marketing at BHP, said the impact of the looming electric vehicle boom for raw materials producers would be felt first in the metals markets and only later in oil.
The deal comes after a trip by the Guinean mines minister, Abdoulaye Magassouba, to China and follows other major Chinese investments in the resource-rich West African nation.
The rise of electric vehicles and the quest to find solutions to energy storage for the renewables industry have created a breeding ground for tech experts to develop battery technologies.
