Troubled Guinea’s bauxite mining sector hangs in the balance
A stable political regime is a key consideration when it comes to investing into a mining project. Sadly, however, regime change is a common misfortune in most of Africa’s mining hotspots, often resulting in investor uncertainty.
What’s even worse is the fact that such change is often an armed or violent one. This week’s military coup in mineral-rich Guinea is a case in point.
Reuters said aluminium extended its covid-19 recovery rally to hit a fresh 10-year high of $2,782 per tonne on Monday. The trigger for the latest upswing was news of the military coup at the weekend in Guinea, a major producer of bauxite, which is processed into alumina and then primary aluminium.
Just 10 days ago, the then-government has assured the workers of Ghana Bauxite Company (GBC) at Awaso in the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai Municipality in the Western North Region towards its commitment to keep the mining organization running.
The West African nation’s Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources George Mireku Duker said: “No worker will be thrown under the bus. With the plan we have for the company, we may even end up employing more.”
The minister stated this when he led a government delegation on a fact-finding mission to the bauxite mining company at Awaso.
The visit was entailed due to the recent agitation by the workers over the panic of losing their jobs following a tough decision by the Bosai Minerals Group from China, the strategic investor of the GBC to sell its stakeholding and pack out.
