Engaged in processing aluminium primarily in China, the company named Xinjiang Joinworld Co. Ltd., reportedly revealed its plan of building an alumina refinery in Guinea. The news came when Xinjiang Joinworld announced its project plan worth US$ 831 million after a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Monday, December 3.
Per the report, the plant will be built in the next one month in a special economic zone in the vicinity of the coastal city of Boffa. It will have a 27-year lifespan, raking in US$69 million per year from refining bauxite into alumina.
Reportedly, the company itself will cover the cost of one quarter approximately or US$ 240 million of the construction. The remaining cost will be funded via loans and other debt vehicles.
“The Guinea project will ensure sufficient alumina supplies to our company, while at the same time, any surplus we don’t need for our own aluminum smelting we would sell to other consumers not only in China but also to buyers in Central Asia and the Middle East,” explained an unnamed company official in an industry media outlet.
Xinjiang Joinworld is the latest in a series of projects begun by Chinese companies over the past few months. Before this in spring, Chalco had made an announcement to partner in a US$800 million project near Boffa, followed by Cosco Shipping Corp revealed its discussions with various shipbuilders to construct over two dozen ore carriers for transporting bauxite from Guinea to Chinese ports.
Guinea is one of the world’s biggest known reserves of bauxite ore, but access to the place is being affected by political and social instability. However, thanks to the election of a new president, who has opened the doors to Chinese buyers that face pressure to find new and significant sources of the aluminium precursor.
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