Guinea’s Nimba restarts bauxite operations
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Guinea’s Nimba restarts bauxite operations
State owned Nimba Mining Company has restarted operations at the Tinguilinta bauxite mine.
By Leon Louw founder of WhyAfrica and editor of the WhyAfrica magazine
Tinguilinta is one of a handful of world class bauxite deposits located in the West African state of Guinea.
The mine was previously owned by Emirati company Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) through its subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC).
In August this year the Guinean government revoked GAC’s concession after it failed to start construction of a promised alumina refinery.
Nimba reached a milestone last week when it restarted mining operations at Plateau 26 of the Tinguilinta mine.
Nimba’s started shipping stockpiles in October and resumed railway operations in early December.
Recruiting for upgrades
According to Patrice L’Huillier, CEO of the Nimba Mining Company, the mine employs more than 450 people.
“As operations continue to scale up, the company and its direct mining subcontractors plan to recruit at least 1,000 additional employees, with the objective of reaching a bauxite production capacity of 10 million tonnes by 2026,” says L’Huillier.
He adds that Nimba is also actively preparing detailed studies for a 1.2-million-tonne alumina refinery, which would be located within the mining permit.
Additional drilling activities are planned in the northern part of the permit, an area that remains largely unexplored.
Guinea supplies roughly one quarter to a third of the world’s global production and consistently ranks amongst the top global producers of bauxite.
WhyAfrica in West Africa in 2026
WhyAfrica will continue following the evolving bauxite and political story in Guinea and West Africa in 20206.
Remember that WhyAfrica tracks and visits exploration and developing mining projects across Africa.
We are debating whether to visit Guinea during our 2026 annual WhyAfrica Road Trip through Africa, so if you are operating in that part of the world or your company is a supplier or service provider in West Africa, please give WhyAfrica a call we would like your input.
Image: Bauxite in Guinea. Please note that the bauxite in picture is NOT mined material from Nimba’s operations. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Guinea’s Nimba restarts bauxite operations