Melbourne

RIO Tinto Group is preparing to restart work on developing the world's largest untapped iron-ore resource after West Africa's Ebola crisis curbed progress on the US$20 billion project.

"There are people considering returning to site, they are not quite there yet," Alan Davies, the chief executive officer of Rio's diamond and minerals unit who's also in charge of work on Simandou, said on Wednesday in an interview in Melbourne. "We remain on a very vigilant standing for Ebola, what we don't want to do is to let our guard down."