The government has approved a deal for private US company High Power Exploration (HPX) to acquire the 95% interest in the Nimba iron ore deposit held by BHP, Newmont Goldcorp and French nuclear power group Orano (the former Areva).HPX is run by Canadian mining magnate Robert Friedland and former Rio Tinto head of exploration Eric Finlayson. Two directors of Friedland’s Ivanhoe Mines, former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe and Belgian financier Guy de Selliers, will become co-chairs of the HPX subsidiary that will hold the Nimba asset and join the board of Société des Mines de Fer de Guinée (SMFG), the Guinean company operating the project.