Gabon: Gabon's greens fret over China iron ore project

Environmental groups in Gabon demanded on Thursday the government reveal the terms of a $3 billion iron ore mining deal with China, saying they feared the huge project could damage an area of virgin forest. The project, awarded to state-owned China National Machinery & Equipment Import & Export Corp., is for the construction of an big iron ore mine in the Belinga mountains of Gabon's remote northeast Ogooue-Ivindo province. The Chinese group expects to complete the mine in three years.