RUSAL train derailment in Guinea halts Friguia alumina exports

Alumina exports from RUSAL’s Friguia refinery in Guinea have been halted after a train carrying the material derailed over the weekend, disrupting rail access to the plant and forcing production to slow, three sources told Reuters.

The train, operated by Russian aluminium producer RUSAL RUAL.MM, derailed near Kagbelen in the Dubreka prefecture on Saturday evening. Four people were injured in the accident, and rail traffic was subsequently suspended, two company officials said.

The disruption has affected both the movement of finished alumina and the delivery of supplies needed to keep the refinery operating. Fuel and caustic soda, among other production inputs, are transported by rail between the port and the refinery, a fourth source said.

A senior official at the Friguia refinery said production had continued, but at a reduced rate. The official was unable to quantify the impact of the disruption.

“Exports are currently at a standstill. A team has been dispatched to the site to assess the situation and carry out repairs,” the official said.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the incident publicly. The cause of the derailment was not immediately known, and Guinean authorities had not released an official statement as of Monday.

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RUSAL had already cut alumina production before the accident because of difficulties securing fuel supplies, according to a second company executive and a mining analyst.

The derailment adds another setback for RUSAL, which has faced export challenges since the Iran war disrupted shipping routes.

Guinea, the world’s largest bauxite exporter, is an important part of the aluminium supply chain. RUSAL operates the country’s only alumina refinery at Friguia, which has an installed capacity of 600,000 tonnes per year and supplies alumina to the company’s aluminium smelters in Russia.

The country’s mining industry depends heavily on privately operated rail corridors that connect bauxite and iron ore mines with alumina refineries and export terminals.

A senior transport ministry official said the accident underscored longstanding problems with railway maintenance.

Friguia resumed operations in 2018 after being shut in 2012. The refinery has produced about 450,000 tonnes of alumina annually since restarting, according to the senior refinery official.

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