Emirates Global Aluminium inks deals with Guinea to support its mining activities

Guinea Alumina Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the UAE’s Emirates Global Aluminium has signed four agreements relating to infrastructure development with the government of the Republic of Guinea.

GAC is building an aluminium refinery and operating bauxite mine in the West African country. The latest agreements are expected to support these initiatives.

Both parties said that they signed deals providing GAC access to the port and rail infrastructure owned by Guinea’s government through the National Agency for Development of Mining Infrastructures (ANAIM) in the region of Boke.

The agreements cover the access conditions and joint investment in the railway and a port operations deal relating to GAC’s investment in the port of Kamsar.

Access rights to the existing infrastructure in the country are included, as well as the development of ”additional infrastructure” in the region of Boke, to support the expansion of GAC’s mining activities.

“This is an important achievement, enabling EGA to secure key upstream capacity to improve security of supply and strengthen our position in the aluminium industry,” said EGA’s executive vice president of supply Masoud Talib Al Ali.

“These agreements further underpin our commitments with our key partners, CBG and the Government of Guinea, to the development of key Guinean and UAE-based industrial complexes.”

EGA, which was formed after a merger of Abu Dhabi’s Emirate Aluminium and Dubai Aluminium, is constructing a two million-tonne per year alumina refinery in Guinea, which is also the world’s top exporter of bauxite.

Under the agreement, bauxite mined by GAC will be ready for export by 2017 and the refinery will be operational by 2022.

EGA is also aiming to be the world’s fifth largest aluminium company by output this year and the Guinea project will help it secure raw materials for its plants in the UAE.