Guinea to triple its bauxite production in 2020

The Republic of Guinea has tripled its production capacity of bauxite, from 7% of world bauxite production to 25% in 2020 to strengthen its leadership in bauxite production and processing sector.

It is in this sense that the Guinean Minister of Mines and Geology, Mohamed Lamine Fofana, presented to investors the strategy of Guinea's bauxite and alumina, on the occasion of the 19th conference Bauxite and Alumina held Friday in Miami in the United States.

Guinea has 2/3 of the world's bauxite reserves, more than 41 billion tonnes, with a high alumina content (between 40% and 53%).

Currently, three companies operating in Guinea and a total annual production of bauxite 17 million tonnes. Eight projects are under development, representing a total investment of $ 24 billion, and the annual production to 61 million tonnes of bauxite and about 20 million tonnes of alumina by 2016-2017.

Recently, the Guinea Bauxite Company (CBG) has signed with Mubadala (UAE) a contract of long-term supply. The agreement will allow the expansion of the production capacity of CBG to 20 million tonnes per year.

In addition, the Guinean government has signed an agreement with Rusal (Russia) for the development of the mine Dian-Dian. Planned in three phases, the development should achieve an annual output of 3 million tons in 2015 and 6,000,000 in 2019, and the construction of an alumina refinery by 2019 to produce 1.2 million tonnes of alumina per year.

According to mining experts, the Chinese demand dynamic over the next five years, Indonesia's decision to ban from 2014 the export of unprocessed bauxite in Guinea would benefit and strengthen its leading position on the international market.