Guinea's bauxite exports have shown remarkable growth, marking a significant achievement in the global market. However, the country's bauxite exports are growing rapidly and being transported by Capesize bulkers.
In 2023, Guinea exported a record 127 million tonnes of bauxite, an impressive increase of 25 million tonnes compared to the previous year. This surge represents a nearly 19.60 per cent year-on-year growth, bringing the country within 24.50 per cent of last year's total exports.
Most of Guinea's bauxite is shipped to China, with the bulk of the exports departing from the ports of Kamsar, Boffa, Cap Verga, and Conakry. The continued expansion of Guinea's bauxite industry underscores the nation's growing importance in the global aluminium supply chain.
According to research from Ursa Shipbrokers, seaborne bauxite exports from West Africa have already totalled approximately 92 million tonnes this year, accounting for nearly 72 per cent of the total exports projected for 2023.
Moreover, according to the Piraeus-based company, these export volumes have necessitated around 96.45 million tonnes of dry bulk carriers' deadweight cargo capacity for seaborne transport in 2024.
Guinea, home to the world's largest bauxite reserves, estimated at approximately 7.4 billion tonnes, experienced a significant boost in export volumes last month. Exports surged by about 18 per cent compared to July 2023 and by an extraordinary 144 per cent compared to the average July exports over the past decade.
Ursa analysts estimate that bauxite exports in August reached 10.16 million tonnes, a 12 per cent increase from last year.
This impressive growth comes despite the challenges of Guinea's traditional rainy season, which typically hampers mining activities, mine-to-port logistics, and port operations and often affects overall export volumes.
Bauxite was a key topic at this year’s Geneva Dry and is expected to become even more significant at the next edition of the world’s leading commodities shipping conference.
William Fairclough, Managing Director of Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings, commented at an iron ore session that “West African bauxite has become much more important and is very much interlinked with iron ore in terms of volumes.”
In was reported in April 2024, Societe Miniere de Boke (SMB)-Winning, Guinea’s leading bauxite producer and exporter, announced plans to invest up to $1 billion over the next five years. The investment aims to upgrade its river terminals and purchase vessels to boost exports, following its significant contribution to increased output.
