The reserves of the Gara Djebilet deposit, discovered in 1952, are stated in Algerian official sources to be approximately 3.5 billion tons. According to a 2022 technical document from Algeria’s Ministry of Energy and Mines, the country launched the process of opening and developing the Gara Djebilet iron mine in the same year. Ministry data show that the ore contains approximately 56% iron and, due to its high phosphorus content of around 0.8%, requires beneficiation and phosphorus reduction before being used in the iron and steel industry.
In the official development plan published in 2022, it was envisaged that the mine’s transport capacity would remain limited to road transport before a railway connection was established. The railway component of the project therefore became one of the key infrastructure investments for the large-scale development of Gara Djebilet.
950-kilometre railway line construction and testing process
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune laid the foundation for the Bechar-Tindouf-Gara Djebilet railway during his visit to Tindouf on November 30, 2023. According to ANESRIF, the 950-kilometre new line was planned in three main sections, with Algerian state-owned companies as well as China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) involved in the project.
Construction of the 135-kilometre section between Tindouf and Gara Djebilet was completed on July 7, 2025. Construction of the entire line had been completed by the end of January 2026. According to ANESRIF’s latest data, construction of the 950-kilometre section was completed in no more than 30 months.
Following construction, preliminary technical tests on the Bechar-Tindouf-Gara Djebilet line began on January 6, 2026. After the initial tests produced successful results, test runs with passenger trains were carried out on January 14.
On January 27, the Gara Djebilet railway station was put into service, while on the same day, the first 1,450-ton shipment of iron ore extracted from the mine was sent by rail to Bechar. The official statement said that the ore would undergo initial processing in Bechar before being transported to the Tosyali complex in the Bethioua area of Oran.
Official commissioning and first shipment to Tosyali
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced the official commissioning of the Gara Djebilet-Tindouf-Bechar railway line at a ceremony held in Bechar on February 1, 2026. On the same day, the first passenger train arrived in Bechar from Tindouf, while trains carrying iron ore from Gara Djebilet to Oran also began operating.
The first ore shipments from Gara Djebilet arrived at the Tosyali Algérie iron and steel complex in the Bethioua area of Oran on February 2 and were unloaded there. Thus, a new rail-based logistics connection between the mine and iron and steel production facilities in northern Algeria was effectively put into operation.
During the same period, it was announced that Tosyali Algérie and Sonarem would jointly establish a new primary processing plant for Gara Djebilet ore in Bethioua. The plant, with an announced annual production capacity of 4 million tons, is planned to include beneficiation, lime and sulfuric acid production units, with completion of the project scheduled for December 2028.
Current status as of September 2026
According to ANESRIF’s latest project data, the new 950-kilometre line between Bechar-Tindouf-Gara Djebilet is in operation. Together with the previously operational Oran-Bechar section, the total length of the western mining railway corridor has reached 1,650 kilometres. The agency reports that seven new stations are also in service along the corridor.
Following the commissioning of the railway, work on ore processing infrastructure linked to the Gara Djebilet project also continued. On June 15, 2026, it was announced that the construction progress of FERAAL’s primary iron ore processing plant had exceeded 95% and that the facility had reached the final stage before commissioning. However, as of September 2026, there is no more recent official statement confirming that the plant has actually been commissioned, so it cannot be said that the facility is operational.
On June 18, the relevant ministries of the Algerian government held a joint coordination meeting to assess the operation of the Gara Djebilet mine and progress on infrastructure investments related to the project. In July, the Toumiat gas pressure reduction station was also commissioned to supply natural gas to ore processing activities in Bechar.
In the long term, the Gara Djebilet project aims to increase annual iron ore production to 50 million tons and marketable product output to approximately 25 million tons. These figures represent the project’s official long-term capacity targets, not current production levels.
Comments
No comment yet.