Guinea Ensures Bauxite Mining Companies Respect Environment - Prime Minister

The Guinean government is ensuring that bauxite mining companies working in the country do not harm the environment, Prime Minister of the Republic of Guinea Ibrahima Kassory Fofana told Sputnik regarding a recent rights watchdog report on the dangers of such mining.

The Human Rights Watch organization on Thursday issued a report on the dangers of bauxite mining operations which take over farming land and threaten the environment.

"In the process of implementation you take action to make sure that the company is really standing by the commitment to respect the environmental issue. That is the only way a government can do. Study first and then control. There are penalties staring from financial payment to closing of the mining company operations," the prime minister said on the sidelines of the Rhodes Forum.

Fofana added that the proper procedure was for any government to ensure that there is a study on the potential environmental impact before signing any contract.

Mining of bauxite, the main source of aluminum, in Guinea has been on the rise lately. Guinea has about a quarter of the world's total reserve of bauxite. While it is estimated to have more bauxite than any other country in the world, its production capacity, as of 2017, had not caught up to Australia and China.

The two-day Dialogue of Civilizations forum began on the Greek island of Rhodes on Friday.