Sierra Leone’s export of bauxite increases year-over-year, Romania remains the top importer

Sierra Leone exported $465 million of goods around the globe in 2016. The country’s primary mineral resources are diamonds, rutile, bauxite, gold and others. Bauxite exports by Sierra Leone have been rising over the last three years.

Sierra Minerals, part of the international industrial and investment group Vimetco N.V., is the only bauxite mine in Sierra Leone and the second largest mining employer in the country. The mine has a resource base of approximately 31 million tonnes and currently produces around 1.2 million tonnes of bauxite per annum for export.

According to the international export-import statistics, in 2015, Sierra Leone exported 1333337 tonnes of bauxite globally. The total revenue from the export stood at US$ 62 million. Compared to 2015, in 2016, the country exported an estimated 1370182 tonnes of bauxite. The total revenue from the export was US$ 60 million.

Considering the trend in last two years, bauxite export by Sierra Leone is estimated to increase in 2017. The country is estimated to export around 1379675 tonnes of bauxite and the revenue from export is estimated to be about US$ 395 million.

Romania imports the largest amount of bauxite from Sierra Leone. In 2017, the country is estimated to export 1332274and 47401 tonnes of bauxite to Romania and India respectively.