Chinese firm to build Guinea’s biggest alumina processing plant
China’s State Power Investment Corp. will start the construction of its alumina processing plant in Guinea this year after producing bauxite in the West African country for the past three years.
SPIC will start the construction in March and complete the refinery that will have the capacity to produce 1.2 million tons of alumina per year by the end of 2027, the presidency said in a statement.
The plant is set to become the country’s biggest and the only other one after Russian owned United Co. Rusal Friguia’s refinery, which has the capacity to produce at least 600,000 tons a year.
SPIC will also build a 250-megawatt power plant and supply 100 megawatts to the national grid, the statement said. The company shipped 3.14 million tons of bauxite in 2023.
Guinea’s military government has been pushing mining firms in the world’s biggest exporter of the reddish ore, which is processed to get alumina, to establish processing facilities onsite in order to boost economic growth.
SPIC’s agreement with the government comes barely two months after the junta, led by General Mamadi Doumbouya blocked the bauxite shipments of Emirates Global Aluminum until the company accelerate its refinery project.
“The state reserves the right to withdraw the mining concession from State Power Investment Corp. if the company doesn’t reach commercial production by December 2028,” the statement said.
(By Ougna Camara)