The Société des Mines de Fer de Guinée (SMFG) is assessing the feasibility of developing an iron ore mine in the Nimba Mountains of southeastern Guine. The Nimba Project would involve mining some 500 million tonnes (MT) of iron ore from three open pits located in the northern portion of the Nimba Mountains within the Guinée Forestière Region, on the border of Liberia and the Ivory Coast. The SMFG Mining Concession of 625.3 hectares (ha) is within a mining enclave of approximately 1,550 ha surrounded on most sides by a World Heritage Site (WHS). The WHS boundaries were defined to exclude this area where mining is permitted. The area is classified under Guinean law as a Strict Nature Reserve, with the exception of the Mining Concession. The broader area is classified as a Biosphere Reserve (BR) whereby the WHS is considered one of the BR’s three core conservation areas; the mining enclave area immediately surrounding the WHS makes up the BR’s “buffer zone”, and a larger “transition area” surrounds the buffer zone. Development and permitting of the Project will involve collection of baseline social and environmental data to support the preparation of an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) that complies with all applicable national and international guidelines. Due to the experience gain during the BIOPA Nimba 2008, the invertebrate section has been contacted to assist OKAPI environnement conseil sprl in setting methodologies for data collection and analysis that will be used to characterise the fauna baseline (pre-mining) within the project area, in particular within the mining concession area, mining enclave, and ancillary features (e.g., rail route alignment options).