Guinea has revoked the bauxite concession awarded to a subsidiary of Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) and transferred it to a newly created state-backed firm, citing violations of its mining code.
The decision further escalates a standoff over construction of an alumina refinery in the world's second largest producer of bauxite and highlights a push by military governments in West Africa to reclaim control over strategic mineral assets.
Dubai-based EGA's operation in Guinea, through its Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC) subsidiary, includes a 690km2 mining concession that contains about 400-million tonnes of bauxite mineral resources.
According to a decree announced late on Monday, GAC failed to comply with Guinean regulations that mining firms present plans to build refineries. It said the concession was being withdrawn immediately and transferred to state-backed Nimba Mining SA “free of charge and without any compensation”.
EGA said on Tuesday it strongly denounces Guinea's decision, which constitutes “a flagrant violation” of GAC's contractual and legal rights.
“GAC will seek the redress it is entitled to through the legal means it has already initiated and any other legal action,” said the company owned by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and the Dubai sovereign wealth fund.
EGA, which began operating in Guinea in 2019, has been in a dispute with the West African country's government since October last year when the authorities suspended its bauxite exports and mining operations. Bauxite is the raw material for aluminium.
It said in July it plans to pursue remedies through international tribunals.
GAC accounts for about 2%–3% of global bauxite supply, and while recent disruptions rattled the market, this swift transfer of ownership may calm short-term supply fears, said Tom Price, investment bank Panmure Liberum's head of commodities.
“It also signals Guinea's intent to capture more value by advancing domestic refining capacity.”
Guinea's bauxite exports surged 36% year-on-year to a record 99.8-million tonnes in the first half of 2025 despite stricter regulations, though analysts warn the effects, with seasonal disruptions from torrential rain, could be felt in the third and fourth quarters.
Besides pushing companies to build refineries, Guinea has also intensified efforts to review dormant or non-compliant mining titles as part of a broader strategy to maximise revenue and attract new partners.
“This [decree] opens the door for the Guinean state to unlock synergies between GAC's assets and those of CBG, where it holds a 49% stake,” said Conakry-based independent mineral economist Bernabe Sanchez, referring to the Guinea Bauxite Company.
Other military-led governments in the region have also tightened control over their natural resource sectors to gain more revenue from surging prices of commodities, notably gold.
Mali has put Barrick Mining's Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex under temporary state control while Niger and Burkina Faso have also sought more favourable terms from foreign firms.
Reuters
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