Guinea bauxite, alumina output rise in 2011

Guinea's bauxite and alumina output rose in 2011, although work stoppages and softening world demand prevented a larger increase in production, the West African state's government said on Monday.

Bauxite production rose more than 9 percent to more than 17.5 million tonnes, while alumina output rose more than 3 percent to 631,000 tonnes, according to a report issued by the finance ministry and obtained by Reuters.

Guinea is the world's largest supplier of bauxite, the ore used in the production of aluminum. The country hopes to develop its resource industries after decades of political turmoil held back investment. A finance ministry official said the increase in alumina production from RUSAL's Friguia plant, the sole refiner, was smaller than the government had hoped for.

"The reason for the (slower growth) in the alumina sector is the many production outages at Friguia but also the declining demand for this product on the international market," said finance ministry official Emmanuel Sossouandouno.

RUSAL's Friguia plant has slowed output several times over the year due to labour disputes, according to sources. Below is a table showing Guinea's production of minerals, according to the finance ministry report.

2011 2010 2009
Bauxite (tonnes) 17,593,100 16,054,100 14,741,600
Alumina (tonnes) 631,000 612,200 543,700
Diamonds (carats) 235,400 311,200 417,300
Gold (ounces) 507,300 798,500 564,100