TECHNOLOGY
OUTLOOK FOR BAUXITE
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Justin Hughes , Head of Aluminium Raw Materials at commodities trader CRU , gives his forecast for Bauxite in Guinea . “ The challenge lies not in the further growth in direct mining , but in the increasing pressure from the Guinea government to implement construction projects for alumina refineries — a requirement that comes with a number of technical issues . There appears to be little concern about the need to import coal for fuel , but certainly an awareness of the need for careful consideration of the handling of red mud , especially in areas of agricultural sensitivity . We do see eventual development of deep – water ports , reducing the requirement for trans – shipments and lowering the cost of bauxite on an FOB basis . Guinea remains front and centre of CRU ’ s view that bauxite supply will grow substantially , primarily from this region , and China will focus on building coastal refineries set to process low – temperature bauxite direct from Guinea , with 70Mty forecast to be shipped by 2023 .”
level for those projects ,” he advises . “ Of course , mining companies still need to make a profit — that ’ s in their DNA . But it ’ s important that they become development partners to our country in order to deliver a positive impact with their projects that will be felt in 20 or even 30 years from now .”
How is Magassouba ’ s government tackling corruption and the need for transparency in such a large and important sector for Guinea ? “ It ’ s a very exposed sector with regard to corruption ,” he concedes . “ What we ’ ve done from the beginning , with any misconduct , is directly make sanctions and then made them public . That was very important for me when I was just appointed because it showed people that this is a different way of doing things . Regarding transparency , we need to make sure all stakeholders have access to information because information is for the public good .” He believes this is vital and creates a new level of accountability . “ With access to information becoming a right , it offers a key support to the reforms we are making ,” he adds .
Justin Hughes , Head of Aluminium
JULY 2019