The processing of the ore will be split between two plants: A dry and a wet beneficiation plant located at the Atomai site and a pelletizing plant located in the south of the Nouadhibou peninsula, west of the SNIM Port. The two plants will be linked by an existing 640 km railway, property of SNIM. Pellets will be exported from the SNIM Port to the Saudi Iron and Steel Company (Hadeed), a subsidiary of SABIC and possibly to other markets.
The mine location is not presently serviced by utilities, roads or railway, although there is an existing heavy rail system owned and operated by SNIM between the port of Nouadhibou and the Zouerate mining area with an existing siding approximately 15 km to the east of Atomai. SNIM also owns and operates the port at Nouadhibou which includes ore processing, stockpiling, and loading facilities.
The mine will be of the open-pit type using conventional mining methods. The project will produce 10 million tons per year of pellets. It is expected that the project will come into production in year 2026.
