On 11th July 2021, Emirates Global Aluminium earmarked the 100th shipload of bauxite exported from Guinea, since the company’s initiation in August 2019 from its wholly-owned bauxite-mining subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation.
The UAE based aluminium company, EGA uses Capesize vessels to transport much of its bauxite ore, as Capesize vessels are up to 300 metres long, which is more than the length of two football fields and 50 metres wide, while they can carry around 180,000 tonnes of bauxite ore.
EGA has exported over 16.4 million dry metric tonnes of bauxite from Guinea so far in total and that could fill Wembley Stadium in London more than nine times.
The quantity of bauxite exported from GAC so far would be enough to produce over three million tonnes of aluminium, which adequate to manufacture over 9,000 A380 airliners.
The primary customers of GAC’s bauxite are in China and India, while some quantity is brought to the UAE as feedstock for EGA’s Al Taweelah alumina refinery in Abu Dhabi.
In 2020, GAC’s first full year of production, EGA was the second-biggest third party seller of bauxite in the world.
Abdulnasser bin Kalban, CEO, EGA, said: “In less than two years since the start-up of GAC, we have established EGA as an important player in the global seaborne merchant bauxite market. I commend the GAC team for reaching the milestone of 100 ships sailed. We are just beginning, and look forward to growing our production in Guinea further to create more value for EGA and the Guinean economy.”
GAC operates a mining concession in Guinea covering an area of more than 690 square kilometres.
The mined bauxite is loaded onto trains to be taken to the coast, while each train can now carry 11,180 tonnes of bauxite ore, similar to the weight of the Eiffel Tower. So far the trains have made 1,641 return journeys, covering a distance equivalent to more than seven times around the world.
Bauxite ore is transported from GAC’s jetty at the port of Kamsar by self-propelled barges to a trans-shipment point operated in deeper water to accommodate these massive vessels.
EGA’s investment of $1.4 billion for the development of GAC is considered as one of the largest Greenfield investments in Guinea in over four decades.
The GAC the project operation makes a direct, indirect and induced contribution of some $700 million each year to Guinea’s economy, a 5.5% boost to GDP.
More than 2,700 people are employed at GAC either directly or as on-site contractors and out of which 94% are Guinean.
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