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...
Grow with
AL Circle
India would soon use indigenous space technology to check illegal mining and guard its mineral wealth using satellite imagery, a top official said on Thursday. "We are in talks with the Indian space agency to use its earth-observation and remote sensing satellites for tracking illegal mining activity and guard the rich mineral assets in the country," Mines Secretary Balwinder Kumar said at a trade event here. The Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) will soon sign an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) to utilise its space applications for monitoring mining activity and study its impact to protect the environment. "We are meeting Isro officials on October 1 in New Delhi to work out modalities, as arrangements are in place to use space technology to regulate mining...
Metro Mining says a decision by the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protections (DEHP) requiring a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for its Bauxite Hills Project is a setback but will provide considerable side benefits. Metro Mining had submitted a detailed application for a Site Specific Environment Authority (EA). Company CEO Simon Finnis says whilst the DEHP decision will delay commencement of planned mining operations by at least six months, the company will use the time to maximise the opportunities that accompany the EIS process. These include: • Removal of the 2 million tonnes per annum production limit – potentially allowing production to be more than doubled; • Provision for the ability to increase the scale of operations to improve market significance...
The Odisha government hasn't quite relinquished its right to mine the controversial Niyamgiri bauxite deposit, originally identified to supply ore to Vedanta Resources' nearby alumina refinery. State-owned Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC), which was granted mining rights for 30 years in 2004, has written to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF), seeking "guidance on how to proceed" with the matter. Two years ago, a dozen villages in southern Odisha invoked their right to worship the Niyamgiri hilltop, warding off government plans to open a bauxite mine in their neighbourhood. The historic and exceptional referendum ordered by the Supreme Court was cited in January of 2014 by the then union government to refuse final forest clearance to the proposed mine,...
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has taken action to warn ship Masters of the possible dangers of liquefaction associated with carriage of bauxite, following consideration of findings from the investigation into the loss of the 10-year-old Bahamas flag bulk carrier Bulk Jupiter, which was carrying 46,400 tonnes of bauxite when it sank rapidly with 18 fatalities in January 2015. A circular approved by IMO’s Sub-Committee on Carriage of Containers and Cargoes (CCC), meeting at IMO Headquarters, warns ship Masters not to accept bauxite for carriage unless: • the moisture limit for the specific cargo is certified as less than the indicative moisture limit of 10% and the particle size distribution as is detailed in the individual schedule for bauxite in the IMSBC Code; or • the...
Bauxite mined by Guinea’s biggest producer Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee- a company owned by io Tinto Plc, Alcoa Inc., Dadco Alumina & Chemicals Ltd. and the government, has been the country’s steadiest source of income since it first produced the ore forty years ago. The company is all set to lead a new wave of investment that may spur the West African nation’s economy and more than double bauxite output. Its $1 billion plan will almost double its annual production to 28.5 million metric tons within five years, Chief Executive Officer Namory Conde said. Four other developments would add a further 20 million tons to Guinea’s annual exports. “There’s going to be a lot more bauxite coming out of Guinea,” Conde said at CBG’s headquarters in the town of Kamsar. “Our quality is much better...
KU Leuven (University of Leuven) is organizing the “Bauxite Residue Valorisation and Best Practices Conference” in Leuven, Belgium from 5-7 October, 2015. The European Training Network for Zero-Waste Valorisation of Bauxite Residue (Redmud) will participate in the event. The organizing committee spokesperson at KU Leuven said, “We believe bauxite residue is a resource- a material that can be valorised, a missed opportunity. We are also aware that our current practice in some parts of the planet has to be revised. We need to change our modus operandi and become more aware and thoughtful about our environmental footprint.” KU Leuven sent out an invitation to this cause to the entire academia and the industry. Referring to the invitation they said, “This is a call to transform our concern...
In a bid to fast-track mineral extraction, the centre will conduct auction of mines bearing minerals such as iron ore, bauxite and limestone on behalf of states for the first phase starting November this year. In phase I, the 12 mineral-producing states have identified 80-90 blocks that will go under the hammer by November. This was made possible after the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015, was passed in March this year, which stipulates auction as the only means to allow extraction of iron ore and other minerals. “The centre in consultation with the states has decided to hand-hold the mineral-bearing states to conduct the mines auction, latest by November this year for 80-90 mines. This will be phase I. The centre will auction the blocks on behalf of the...
The General Court of the European Union has annulled the sanctions listing of the Iranian Aluminum Company (Iralco), Iran’s top state-owned holding company in the mining sector says. The Luxembourg-based court voted to remove Iralco from the list of entities subject to asset freeze, the public relations office of the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation (IMIDRO) said in a statement. The ruling by the second-highest court in the EU, however, is typically suspended for two months pending appeals by the European Council. Several Iranian companies have successfully had sanctions against them annulled recently after EU's failure to appeal against the General Court ruling ordering the measures to be lifted. The latest were two Iranian companies operating in the oil,...
The Bua Urban Youth Network has called for wider consultations for the bauxite mining in Wainunu district. A release from the group stated that landowners should, by right be consulted and given the necessary information to ensure their consent is informed. "This also means that landowners and surrounding communities are able to negotiate for the best possible returns and one that will compensate for the loss of livelihood and environmental degradation," the release said. The group has also called on the government to abide by the principle of free, prior and informed consent when dealing with landowners.
Guinea is in talks with China International Water & Electric Corp. to build a $2 billion hydro-power dam that would almost double the West African country’s energy output, providing new capacity for the expansion of bauxite processing, said Lansana Fofana, an energy ministry official. The 550-megawatt Souapiti dam would be CWE’s second project in the country, after it completed the 240-megawatt Kaleta dam about 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of the capital, Conakry, in July. The Kaleta project tripled Guinea’s electricity production and boosted efforts to expand grid access to more of the country’s 12 million citizens. “The idea is to feed the mining industry,” said Fofana, the head of the two hydro-power projects, in an interview this month during an inspection of the 1,545-meter...
The bauxite mine of Navratna PSU National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO), situated at Panchpatmali Hill in Odisha's Koraput district, has bagged the prestigious Pollution Control Excellence Award -2015. The award, instituted by State Pollution Control Board, Odisha (OSPCB) was conferred on NALCO in recognition of its "effective pollution control measures and sound environment management practices" at bauxite mines. On behalf of the company, Sharanan Choudhuri, GM (O&M) - Mines, received the award from Odisha Chief Secretary G C Pati at the 32nd Foundation Day Celebrations of OSPCB held here today, a company release said. Appreciating the concerted efforts of the team of Panchpatmali Mines, NALCO's CMD T.K. Chand conveyed hearty congratulations to the company collective for the accolade....
Vedanta’s doomed Lanjigarh alumina refinery which has been facing severe bauxite ore shortage has little hope of survival as the efforts to mine bauxite from the proposed Karlapat area in Odisha’s Kalahandi district face opposition from tribal organizations like Lok Sangram Manch (LSM) and Niyamgiri Suraksha Samity (NSS). Carrying out refining operations in Lanjigarh facility has always been challenging for Vedanta as the refinery has to depend on bauxite ore procured from outside the state. Earlier in 2013, it was once planned that bauxite mined from the Niyamgiri Hills would feed the refinery; but due to protests of the local tribals, the plan was dumped. Following it, the unit has been running at losses for a while. However, with the global prices of primary aluminium declining sharply...
Metro Mining may be required to submit a full Environment Impact Statement for its Bauxite Hills project at Cape York, Queensland. On 10th August, the company lodged its Site Specific Environment Authority Application for the project with the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (DEHP). After some discussion and minor modifications, it was formally received on 17th August 2015. The company has now being verbally advised by DEHP officers that they considered a full EIS would now be required for the project. While no formal advice has being received from the department that this is in fact its final position, Metro will now seek a formal inter-departmental review through the established process. It is seeking specific justification for the heightened level of...
The vanua of Wainunu in Bua has agreed to bauxite mining. However, it has made its stand clear that proper preliminary work needs to be done first including an environment impact assessment report. Tui Wainunu Ratu Orisi Baleitavea confirmed the bose vanua of Wainunu (traditional leaders meeting) held in Daria Village last week agreed to open doors to bauxite company Aurum Exploration (Fiji) Ltd. "We will not have bauxite mining in our district anytime soon but at a later stage after all preliminary works are carried out properly in an accountable and transparent manner," he said. "Although we have agreed, we are seriously considering the impact it will have on the environment especially the rivers and streams in our district. There also needs to be a sustainable plan for the surrounding...
Fiji has exported $48 million worth of bauxite so far from the shores of Bua in the Northern Division. But the drop in global demand has affected export and slowed work progress at the mines this year. Aurum Exploration (Fiji) Ltd executive Derek Qiu confirmed although works continued, operations were not the same during peak period. He said the company had exported 1.2 million tonnes of bauxite since mining started in Bua. "We may just have two shipments this year because of the global market situation. The global demand is less but work at the Dreketi mine is progressing," he said. On the number of bauxite shipments expected from Dreketi, Mr Qiu said, that was yet to be determined. He did not either elaborate on the tonnage of bauxite stockpiled at the mine site. However, in July, he...
Outotec has established a dewatering technology centre in Lappeenranta, Finland to develop new products, processes and services for solid-liquid separation and raw material reuse for the entire life cycle of processing plants. Tailings are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the worthless fraction of an ore. The composition of tailings is directly dependent on the composition of the ore and the process of mineral extraction used on the ore. Dewatering is the process of removing some of the water from the tailings-water slurry following concentration. Both the procedures are integral to bauxite processing before the ore is sent to the refinery for alumina refining. With the new dewatering technology centre, Outotec can simulate and optimise...
Union Minister of Steel and Mines, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar met Western Australian Premier, Mr Colin Barnet in latter's office in West Perth, Australia, last week Friday. Tomar is leading a delegation of the Indian mining industry to Sydney for Asia Pacific Mining Exhibition (AIMEX) 2015, one of the world's largest mining event. Other members include Director General of Geological Survey of India, CMD NMDC, CMD MECL, and other senior officers from PSUs and Mines Ministry. The delegation also visited Huntley mines, the world's second largest bauxite mine with production of 25 million tones. There the delegation learnt about the state-of-the-art technology and automation being used. This was followed by a visit to the fully automated operational centre of Rio Tinto, where from the company...
In an effort to add value to the country’s mineral resources and more importantly to create jobs Indonesian government has decided not to relax its ban on export of bauxite and other minerals in its upcoming stimulus policy package. This is significant because the ban has already cost Indonesia, the once world’s top nickel exporter and a major bauxite supplier, billions of dollars. Sticking to the decision of not doing away with the ban would mean more lost revenues. The slowing Indonesian economy can hardly afford to bear that and is eagerly awaiting government intervention for revival. Still, the government is in favour of sticking to the present regulations. Earlier, the government had said it was mulling the option of relaxing its bauxite and mineral export policy in order to prop up...
