Major piece of equipment arrives for EGA’s bauxite mining project in Guinea

Emirates Global Aluminium announced that the final major piece of equipment for its under-development bauxite mining project has arrived in Guinea. The Barge Loader will now be installed at the end of the mining project’s 1.5 kilometre pier, where it will load bauxite ore into self-propelled barges for transport to waiting bulk cargo ships offshore.

The Barge Loader, which is the height of a four-storey building, is the last in a series of massive pieces of equipment for the project to arrive in Guinea. The equipment was shipped to Guinea from ThyssenKrupp’s fabrication facility in India

Abdulla Kalban, EGA’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, said: “All the major pieces of equipment for our Guinea project have now safely arrived, completing a series of challenging engineering and logistical feats. Construction overall is very well advanced and we look forward to its safe completion and the start of bauxite exports later this year.”

Developed by EGA’s subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation, the total budget of the project is around $1.4 billion. The first bauxite exports from the project are expected during the second half of 2019.

Guinea mining project is part of EGA’s strategic growth upstream in the aluminium value chain, creating new revenue streams for the company and securing the competitive supply of the natural resources it needs. EGA is also developing Al Taweelah alumina refinery in Abu Dhabi, which is in the final stages of commissioning.