After lengthy negotiations that spanned almost two years, Brazilian miner, B&A Mineracao has reverted plans to acquire BHP Billiton’s stake in the Mount Nimba, an iron ore-rich deposit located close to the Liberian border.

Sources close to the deal told Reuters that B&A Mineracao lost interest due to cost, risk and difficulty from an operational and political perspective.

Guniea’s political instability have made mining companies and investors cautious of the West African nation, as weaker metals prices persists.

Questions over the preferred route to ship the iron ore to market has also been a major drawback of commercial mining in Guinea.

BHP announced the intention to sell its Mount Nimba deposit as part of its withdrawal plan from iron ore and other projects across West Africa two years ago. By December that year, it picked B&A Mineracao among a small group of suitors, which included top steel maker ArcelorMittal, as the preferred bidders.

In October 2013, BHP CEO, Andrew Mackenzie told shareholders that the company was still in talks with the Brazilian miner over the sale of its 41.3 percent stake in Mount Nimba.

Roger Agnelli, the co-founder of B&A Mineracao has long been interested in Guinea’s iron ore potential after he spear-headed the company’s expansion into Guinea through the purchase of a stake in Guinea’s Simandou iron ore deposit.

The Mount Nimba project is 41.3 percent owned by BHP and 41.3 percent owned by Newmont Mining Corp (NEM), while France’s Areva SA (AREVA.FR) owns a 12.4 percent stake.