Guinea to Become Top 3 Global Bauxite Producers  as AMR Begins Production

First loads of bauxite are leaving the area on the 12th of December. © AMR

Conakry, Republic of Guinea, December 13, 2017 – French mining company Alliance Minière Responsable (AMR)  is  beginning production at its Boké mine, Conakry, Guinea as part of its agreement signed in June 2017 with Société Minière de Boké (SMB), a consortium composed of UMS International, a French owned transport and logistics company, Singaporean shipping company Winning Group and Chinese aluminum producer Shandong Weiqiao.

 The first loads will be exported early 2018 from Dapilon river port.

Total production is expected to reach between 6 and 10 million tonnes in 2018. AMR production allows SMB to quickly ramp up its capacity for exporting better quality bauxite at a more competitive price. Thanks to the development of AMR’s license, Guinea should exceed 50 million tonnes of bauxite produced in 2018, and will become one of the top three global producers.

“Today, the context of international bauxite markets is more favorable than ever, with Chinese demand growing and other producing countries faltering, especially in Southeast Asia. We strongly believe with AMR on a new era for Guinea, and we are proud to contribute to the country’s rise to become one of the world’s leading players on the bauxite market”,  Romain Girbal, President of AMR, said.

In this context, AMR has two major advantages: the resources identified to date on the Boké license are abundant and of good quality (reserves are estimated at 150 million tonnes with an alumina quality above 44 %) and the deposit is easy to excavate through conventional methods.

The project is also strategically located, near existing mining tracks and a navigable river where port infrastructures are already functional.

In addition, of all the logistic options considered during the feasibility studies conducted by AMR, the industrial strategy designed in partnership with SMB makes the most of infrastructure sharing and consequently minimizes the negative environmental and social impacts.

The partnership includes very strict clauses regarding responsible commitments that are in line with a socially robust project under the Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), Relocation and Compensation Action Plan, Local Content Plan, and Community Development Plan.

African Eye Report

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