Ghana and Guinea to discuss over bilateral cooperation for developing bauxite industries

Ghana Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia reportedly announced to the press that both Guinea and Ghana are all set to begin discussions over bilateral cooperation for developing bauxite industries, similar to trade co-operation between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire in the cocoa sector.

“You know what we are trying to do in the extractives sector as far as bauxite is concerned is quite similar to Guinea, but different in many perspectives,” Dr. Bawumia told reporters.

He further said, “Guinea has the bauxite resources and they have the mine. We are trying to move up the value chain by not just doing mining but also refining. After refining we have VALCO to smelt.”

In his opinion, co-operation of this kind will help both the countries, through knowledge-sharing, drawing of synergies and enhanced common benefits. He explained, “Our vision as a country is to have our counterpart Guinea and others patronise our refinery and also bring their raw bauxite for smelting in Ghana.” “This will help boost the Ghanaian economy and earn us additional foreign exchange,” added further.

Guinea has the world’s largest bauxite deposits and Ghana has a deposit close to a billion metric tonne. So, the two countries together will be able to control around 70 to 80 per cent of the world’s bauxite resources. Working together will also help strengthen their positions and voice in the global markets for bauxite and alumina.