Guinea gives greenlight for $1.4bn bauxite, aluminum project

The government of Guinea has approved plans for the development of a new $1.4bn bauxite mine and aluminum refinery project in the northwest region of the country, Reuters reports.

The government has approved the plan to award the contract to Societe des Bauxites de Guinee (SBG), a subsidiary of Dutch firm MetalCorp Group, to construct the project at a site that has proven reserves of over 300mn tonnes of bauxite.

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Citing the government summary, Reuters reveals that SBG are likely to be authorised to begin production by the close of 2022.

Once operational, the mine will bolster Guinea’s position as the region’s leading bauxite producer, producing 50mn tonnes of Bauxite through 2017 – double that of 2016’s levels after leading mining firms Rio Tinto Alcan, Alcoa and Dadco all invested in countrywide Bauxite projects.

The SBG mine itself is expected to further increase this bauxite production by 8mn tonnes annually – 3mn for direct export and 5mn for refining into aluminum at a local facility, the government reveals.