Guinea - Country Commercial Guide
Mining and Minerals
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Overview

The mining sector offers significant opportunities and a solid legal framework for investment. Bauxite, iron ore, gold, and diamond mining represent key markets for Guinea and are relatively well developed, with tens of companies actively producing and exporting minerals. In addition to these resources, Guinea has commercially viable quantities of graphite, manganese, nickel, and uranium, though these have not yet been exploited commercially. In 2022, Guinea exported just over USD 5.1 billion of bauxite (103 million tons @ USD 50/ton), and USD 5.8 billion of gold (3,139,383@ USD 1,792/oz.).

Large amounts of high-quality iron ore remain unexploited due to the logistical difficulty of transporting ore to ports. In 2022, the total production of iron ore was 304,390 tons. Two major iron ore mining projects at Simandou and Mount Nimba will likely begin exporting within the next five years once the mining sites and associated infrastructure are completed. Under the auspices of the Trans Guinean Company, created in July 2022, a 600km rail infrastructure across Guinea and a new deep-water port are planned to export iron ore from the Simandou project. A rail connection to the Liberian port of Buchanan is envisioned to export Nimba’s reserves.

Table 1: Commodities, Operational Projects and Projects Under Construction
 CommoditiesOperational Projects Projects Under Development 
Bauxite 13*11 
Gold 8**10 
Iron 1 4 
Graphite 0 1 
Diamond 3***3 
Alumina 1 7 
Total 2036 

* One project on technical stand by.

** Five semi-industrial projects.

*** All three projects are on technical stand by.

Leading Sub-Sectors

Guinea boasts 23 percent of the world’s reserves of bauxite, the world’s largest and became the second main bauxite exporter after Australia since 2019. Historically, most of the country’s bauxite was exported by Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee (CBG) via a designated port in Kamsar. CBG is a joint venture between the Government of Guinea, U.S.-based Alcoa, the Anglo-Australian firm Rio Tinto, and Dadco Investments. While CBG still retains the largest reserves, the Societe Miniere de Boke (SMB), a Sino-Singaporean conglomerate, recently surpassed CBG as the largest single producer of bauxite. Bauxite mining is a growth industry, with new companies opening concessions and expanding existing operations. Additionally, and linked to the success of mining developments, road and railroad construction is a potentially lucrative market in the future. However, most recent large road construction contracts were awarded to politically well-connected Guinean or Chinese construction firms.

Between 2015 and 2020, Guinea’s bauxite exports more than quadrupled with most exports to China. Despite this expansion of mining activities, government revenues from bauxite exports in particular only rose incrementally from USD 250 million to USD 370 million between 2016 and 2022. The underpricing of bauxite exports by mining companies was identified as a major loss of revenue for the government and in September 2022, Guinea introduced a bauxite reference price which mining companies must apply. The bauxite reference price was enacted through a joint decree by the Minister of Mines, Minister of Finance and Minister of Budget and came into force in September 2022. This benchmark price for bauxite is expected to mobilize greater domestic revenue from exports and is projected to generate tens of millions of dollars in additional revenue.

In March 2022, the government also notified all mining companies of its intent to exercise its right to transport 50% of mining production by maritime transport as granted by the Mining Code. Although this has not yet began, the government intends in the long term to participate in the maritime transport of minerals to have greater control on chain-value of mining exports and mobilize greater revenue in this sector.

Bauxite

Table 2: Total Market Size for Boxites - 2019-2022
 2019202020212022
Total Local Production (Thousand metric tons)70,17387,766 87,438103,525
Total Exports (USD millions)*3,3134,120 4,2825,114
Total Imports (USD millions)0000
Imports from the US0000
Total Market Size3,3134,120 4,2825,114
Exchange Rates**9,562 GNF/1 USD10,001 GNF/1 USD9,200 GNF/1 USD8,485 GNF/1 USD

Total market size = ((total local production + imports) - exports), units: $ millions

Source

* Total exports calculated as (total export in millions tons) x (USD 50/ton) = total exports.

** As of December 31, 2019, December 31, 2020, December 31, 2021, and September 28, 2023.

Note: U.S. customers recently placed heavier emphasis on importing calcined (processed) rather than crude bauxite, resulting in a significant drop in Guinea’s bauxite exports to the United States.

Opportunities

There are opportunities for exporting machinery and equipment to Guinea, particularly in the mining sector. Several mining companies are in the early exploration or construction phases of their contracts and will likely look to make substantial investments in machinery and construction equipment in the upcoming years. Additionally, the expansion of the construction sector for additional housing, commercial space and road construction in and around Conakry offer opportunities for machinery and equipment sales.

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