Nimba Mining Company SA has appointed Patrice L'Huillier as Director General and Djiba Diakité as Chairman of the Board of Directors, with both appointments confirmed through separate presidential decrees. The announcement was made on Friday, October 23, 2026, during a national television news broadcast. L'Huillier, a civil engineer specialising in bridges and roads, will serve as Director General for an initial three-year term, which is renewable. According to his appointment decree, he will work under a performance contract with the Ministry of Mines and Geology. The contract will establish his objectives, the methods for assessing his performance and his obligations regarding the transfer of skills to national staff. In a separate decree, Diakité, Minister Director of the Cabinet of...
Rio Tinto’s planned USD 1.9 billion investment in the Kangwinan bauxite project is expected to support more than 1,300 construction jobs in Queensland, while helping secure the long-term future of its Weipa mining operations as existing sources of production approach the end of their lives. Located on Western Cape York Peninsula, Kangwinan will add 20 million tonnes of annual bauxite production capacity, with first output targeted for 2029 and full production expected by 2032. The project will raise Weipa Operations’ annual capacity to around 44 million tonnes from current production of approximately 38 million tonnes. Construction is scheduled to ramp up in 2027. Beyond the immediate employment boost, the investment is expected to help sustain Rio Tinto’s residentially based workforce of...
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Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation announced that the company has received approval from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri for its First Day motions related to its Chapter 11 restructuring. Collectively, the First Day orders issued by the Court on either an interim or final basis will help Noranda continue to operate its business in the ordinary course while the company evaluates options for its various business operations. Kip Smith, Noranda's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "The Court's approval of our DIP financing and other first-day motions should provide our customers, suppliers, and employees confidence in our ability to conduct this process without disruption to our ongoing business activities." The Court granted Noranda interim...
A parliamentary report of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources has concluded that landowners of Nawailevu in Bua have received the full payment and fair share of royalties for the mining of the bauxite in their area. These landowners had claimed in a petition presented to parliament last year that they were not receiving full payments. The bauxite mining license in Nawailevu, Bua was awarded to Aurum Exploration Fiji Limited. Chairman of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, Joeli Cawaki told parliament that a future generation fund of $600,000 has been paid to the landowners. Cawaki says it is the fair share of royalties formula that is yet to be finalised by the Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources. The report has been tabled in parliament and will be debated at a later...
The Indian government-owned mineral exploration and development company has reported weaker year-on-year results for the final three months of last year as the Gujarat-based miner succumbed to slowing demand and weakening commodity prices. Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd. (GMDC) has recorded a 40 per cent drop in net profit for the three months ending 31 December 2015, the third quarter of the Indian fiscal year, with the company’s total income falling by 16 per cent over the same period. The company attributes this decline in profit and total income to sluggish demand for commodities such as fluorspar and bauxite. The whole of mining and commodities market has been experiencing a freefall which has taken a serious toll on the respective value chains across economies, barring...
The new bauxite-mining scheme being finalised by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, Malaysia, will provide better protection for the people and environment, as well as ensure sustainability of the industry. Its minister, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, said that at least three areas of control would regulate the sector, which last year drew the wrath of Kuantan folk for the environmental pollution it caused, partly due to poor regulation of the industry. Now, industry players will have to, among others, observe the port’s export capacity, the mining operators’ production abilities and the Federal Government’s issuance of Approval Permits (APs). “It had been predicted that the bauxite-mining industry would last between two and three years,” Wan Junaidi said. “However,...
The man in charge of Rio Tinto's $US1.9 billion ($2.7 billion) bauxite expansion has left the company, as the miner's cost cutting drive continues to trim its executive ranks. Phillip Strachan had been Rio's chief executive of Bauxite and Alumina based out of Brisbane in recent years, but his role will now be absorbed by Pacific Aluminium chief executive Bruce Cox. The change comes barely three months after Rio announced it would go ahead with a major expansion of its bauxite export business near Weipa in Queensland. Mr Strachan has been involved with Rio's aluminium division since 1999, and it is believed he is not the only departure from Rio's Brisbane office. Mr Cox is well known across the Australian mining sector, having spent more than three decades working for BHP Billiton and Rio...
Alcoa’s workforce is celebrating an historic milestone after achieving one billion tonnes of bauxite mined, following 53 years of operation in Western Australia. President Alcoa Mining Garret Dixon saluted the hard work and tireless efforts of past and present employees who have worked across its mining operations at Jarrahdale, Huntly and Willowdale. “We’re very proud of this achievement and also our decades-long, internationally recognised land rehabilitation program - one of the most critical parts of the mining process which sees jarrah forest ecosystems restored,” said Mr Dixon. Mr Dixon said Alcoa had built a world-class integrated mining, refining and smelting system in Australia with a strong sustainability record. “In Australia, our bauxite is used to produce alumina to supply...
Hindalco Industries Ltd., India’s second- largest producer of aluminum, may have to halt mining at its biggest bauxite reserve after part of the land was recently deemed forest, requiring a new permit, people with knowledge of the matter said. The company needs to obtain approvals by 9 March and is running out of time, one of the people said. Hindalco has already filed the papers and the eastern state of Odisha, where the mine is located, needs to decide whether to extend the deadline, another person said. When Hindalco won the lease more than a decade ago, the area wasn’t marked as forest land, both said, asking not to be identified as they aren’t authorized to speak on the subject. Failure to get the license in time may either force Hindalco to cut aluminum production or import ore,...
Rampant, unregulated bauxite mining in Malaysia’s Kuantan and its impact on the region’s environment and economy have revealed loopholes more than one in the country’s industrial regulatory system. Why only Malaysia’s? - The setback has unearthed many gaps existing within the mining industry’s value chain across economies. These include issues relating to ethical mining and sustainability which have long been overlooked by the mineral development companies. It is high time the industry addressed these issues; otherwise it could experience bigger setbacks in the days to come, opine industry experts and scientists. Environmentalists are concerned over the long-term impact on Kuantan’s environment, ecosystem and economy due to the damage done by unbridled bauxite mining activities....
The long term damage caused by unregulated bauxite mining activities can negatively impact Malaysia's tourism sector, observed Prof Dr Ahmad Puad Mat Som dean of Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, University Sultan Zainal Abidin (UNISZA). "Bauxite mining has caused damages to the environment and locals especially to restaurant operators and fishermen that have affected their income and economy and has created a negative perception among tourists about Malaysia," Ahmad Puad said in a recent interview. On 15 January the government had issued an order to stop all mining activities for 3 months to enable the cleaning up process to begin. However, Ahmad Puad urged the government to seriously consider the long term damage of the polluting industry on the tourism sector. "Due to this, our...
Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, foresees an inevitable cessation in the export of bauxite, noting that there are more long-term benefits in having it processed here in Jamaica. Addressing stakeholders, delegates and leaders of trade unions representing workers at the St. Ann-based Noranda Bauxite Limited (NBL), at the Cardiff Hotel and Spa, on January 30, Mr. Paulwell said there are telling examples now emerging worldwide, where some leading bauxite countries have either put a lid on, or have placed some restrictions on exports. “There is now a shortage of bauxite worldwide. Indonesia has banned the export of bauxite, while Malaysia recently put a stop order on theirs also. We are seeing the same thing happening in Vietnam, India, Brazil, Guinea...
The Port of Redwood City Commission has approved expanding acreage use by International Materials Incorporated (IMI) for its handling of bauxite ore imports. IMI entered its initial lease agreement with the Port in 2010 for approximately a 2.4 acre paved open area next to the building occupied by iCracked. IMI uses the area to import, store, and truck-out bauxite ore. In 2012 IMI requested additional area for handling bauxite, and recently an expansion to that area. With the approval by The Port Commission of the amendment to the IMI lease, the area for bauxite has increased by 2.7 acres. Port Executive Director Michael J. Giari reported that lMl, since the start of its lease, has increased the tonnage of bauxite handled at the Port. So far in fiscal year 2016, bauxite imports total...
Metro Mining has further de-risked its developing export business profile by entering into a deal for the provision of transhipment services relating to the Bauxite Hills project in Queensland. The agreement with Bauxite Transhipment Services (BTS) will allow Metro to minimise capital expenditure as BTS will provide all tugs and barges required for the operation. This move is expected to deliver a low-cost and low-risk transhipment solution that does not require any dredging or bed levelling of the Skardon River. As a joint venture between Transhipment Services Australia and indigenous ship loading company Dadaru, BTS will represent an opportunity for Metro to maximise the employment of local people. The terms of the agreement provide the flexibility to expand the transhipping operation...
Guinea-focused bauxite miner Alufer will produce 5 million tonnes of bauxite next year, the mines minister said on Monday, potentially boosting Guinea's output by more than a quarter. Guinea holds nearly a third of the world's reserves of bauxite, the metal used to make aluminium, and currently produces around 18 million tonnes. Some mining investment has been held up due to a global commodity price slump. "Alufer will produce 5 million tonnes of bauxite from 2017 for an estimated cost of $140 million," said mines and geology minister Abdoulaye Magassouba at an event marking the signing of a convention between Guinea and Alufer. The independent miner, whose main Bel Air open-pit mine is located near the West African country's Atlantic coast, is set to eventually ramp up production to 10...
China’s demand for imported bauxite will remain high in 2016 after a 53.86 per cent increase in 2015, SMM predicts. SMM expects output of alumina in China that relies heavily on imported bauxite to grow to 20.4 million tonnes (mt) in 2016, and this will boost demand for imported bauxite to 55 mt. China’s customs data showed that the country imported 7.11 mt of bauxite in December 2015, up 118.82 per cent from corresponding period last year, and imported 55.82 mt in 2015. Alumina capacity at Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering Group expanded to 11 million-tpy, the main driver of China’s bauxite import growth. In an earlier report, SMM had predicted, China’s appetite for imported bauxite would decline in the short term. The forecast came after Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering Group and Shandong Xinfa...
Jamaican government has rejected pleas to relieve St Ann-based bauxite company, Noranda, of its levy obligations in light of its declining profits. Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Peter Phillips told the House of Representatives yesterday that the Government would not compromise the 40-year-old levy to save Noranda from decline. “Were we to accede to Noranda’s demand, the country would be realisng, in nominal terms, the same amount of taxes that we were receiving prior to the introduction of the bauxite levy in 1974. And we would be doing so while allowing the exploitation of a depleting, non-renewable resource,” Phillips said during the debate on the first supplementary estimates 2015/16, which were approved by the House of Representatives last night. “This would be dishonouring the...
Fallout from Malaysian ban continues as authorities step up export licence checks. CBIX edged lower again last week, down 1.8% (US$0.9) to finish at US$46.6/dmt. The fall was more reflective of the subdued alumina market, particularly in China, than the longer term implications of the Malaysian ban. Adding to the disruptions in Malaysia, authorities engaged in brief but intense process of export licence checks, delaying shipments and leading to serious congestion at the port (vessels were queued as they awaited loading). The disruptions are reportedly affecting buyers, with some avoiding Malaysian bauxite purchases altogether, as they wait for the authorities to provide more policy clarity. Malaysian bauxite prices remained unchanged over the week, with unwashed bauxite fetching...
The Pahang government said yesterday that the raw water supplied to Selangor was not contaminated with bauxite. State Basic Facilities and Environmental Committee chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Soffi Abdul Razak said the source of the water supplied to Selangor came from west Pahang area such as Raub and Bentong, away from the bauxite mining areas in Kuantan. "Water is collected in Kelau dam before being released to Semantan river and pumped into the tunnel which channelled the water into Langat river. Bauxite issues have nothing to do with it because the catchment areas are different." Soffi was commenting on Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali's statement that the state government would conduct tests on raw water from Pahang following fears of bauxite sediment pollution in...
French telecoms tycoon Xavier Niel's NJJ Capital has acquired a minority stake in Alliance Miniere Responsable (AMR), a Paris-based company developing bauxite reserves in Guinea, AMR said on Wednesday, 24 January. The stake, the size of which was not known, is the latest investment by one of France's richest men. Niel set up low-cost telecoms operator Iliad in France and this week was said to be eyeing a move into the U.K. market. The specific goal behind the move was unclear, but a spokesman for AMR said that Niel wanted to diversify his portfolio, which also includes a stake in Telecom Italia. Guinea is a major producer of bauxite, an aluminium ore, but growth has been hamstrung by a slump in metals prices and a two-year Ebola epidemic in the West African nation that killed more than...
