MINING

doing anything , we said we ‘ boleh ’ ( Malay word for ‘ can do ’)” Bouzigues says . “ This took almost nine months . Subsequently , we obtained our exploration permit and followed the mining code to the letter , giving the government regular updates .” SMB-WAP ’ s pooled financial resources ( Lau notes that the project ’ s capital expenditure is $ 600- 700 million ) and in-house competences enabled it to progress rapidly from this point . The consortium carried out rapid drilling campaigns with its own equipment and staff , and with the help of its on-site laboratories , staff were easily able to determine which areas were prospects . “ Once the results were positive , we applied for the mining license since we did not need to waste time for raising construction funds , seeking consultants / contractors , nor securing offtake . This came six months after obtaining the research permit and starting the production phase ,” Frédéric Bouzigues says . To enable production , the consortium established two entities in Guinea . Frédéric Bouzigues explains : “ We have Boké Mining Company ( SMB ), which mines bauxite in the Boké region , and Winning Africa Port SA ( WAP ), which manages all of the river port terminal operations on the Rio Nuñez for the shipping of bauxite .”

The bauxite mining industry does not use any

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