【Ferro-alloys.com】：Guinea picked Glencore as offtaker to buy bauxite produced by State-owned Nimba Mining Co, as the West African nation looks to manage more closely export flows of the aluminum feedstock.

Glencore was chosen through an international tender, Minister of Mines and Geology Bouna Sylla said in an interview in the capital, Conakry.

“Talks to finalize the terms of the contract are ongoing,” Sylla said. While Nimba Mining Co is a wholly State-owned company, “the aim is to turn it into a mining champion,” the minister said. A spokesperson for Glencore declined to comment.

Nimba Mining Co. took over the bauxite mining concession of Guinea Alumina Corp., a unit of Dubai-based Emirates Global Aluminium in August last year following a dispute over the construction of an alumina refinery. The company has exported 4 million tons of bauxite this year, and plans to ramp up to between eight-million and ten-million tons for the full year before increasing to 12-million tons in 2027, Sylla said.

Guinea is the world’s largest exporter of bauxite, the ore used to produce alumina, which in turn is processed to get aluminum. At a national level, it shipped 183-million tons last year, supplying much of China’s demand. In March, the government said it was in discussions with miners about plans to control the volume of ore supplied to the market and protect the country against a slump in prices.

Nimba Mining Co signed its bauxite mining contract with the government earlier this week. The company is expanding into new activities, including iron ore and gold and metals refining, according to Sylla.

One of the ventures, Nimba Gold, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Resolute Mining to jointly develop gold projects, Sylla said. The new company’s other activities will be rolled out gradually, beginning with exploration before moving into production. 

• [Editor:Alakay]