BEIJING - The Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco), the country's top aluminum producer, said Monday it has teamed up with several Chinese companies to form a consortium to develop the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea.

The consortium is established in line with an agreement it signed with Australia's Rio Tinto last year to jointly invest in the Simandou project, the company's president Xiong Weiping said at the establishment ceremony.

Chalco Hong Kong Ltd, a brand of Chinalco teamed up with another four Chinese companies -- Baosteel Resources Co, the China-Africa Development Fund Co, China Harbor Engineering Co and a branch of China Railway Construction Corp -- to form the consortium.

A holding company of Chalco Hong Kong will serve as the platform for managing the consortium, responsible for the investment in the Simandou project and the management during its construction period.

Xiong said at the ceremony that the consortium's establishment signaled the Simandou project entering a stage of faster development.

"The consortium will strive to make the project a paradigm of sincere cooperation of Chinese companies in overseas development, and meanwhile bring real benefits to people in Simandou," said Xiong.

In July 2010, the Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (Chalco), a listed arm of Chinalco, inked an agreement with Australia's Rio Tinto to set up a joint venture for the development of the Simandou iron ore mine in Guinea, West Africa.

The Simandou iron ore mine is estimated to have total iron ore reserves of approximately 5 billion tons.