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Who owns Guinea's bauxite?

Bauxite mining in Guinea, photo: Bob Barry

No other country has as much bauxite as Guinea-Conakry. The government is planning a new law to secure 30 percent of shares in the mines, against the wishes of foreign investors.

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Guinea's treasures

Meet the Guinea-Conakry team

Gerlind Vollmer filming in Guinea.

Gerlind Vollmer and Bob Barry travelled to Kindia for DW. Bob originally comes from Guinea and Gerlind has often filmed in Africa but had not visited Guinea Conakry before. What impressed them most?
  • Explosives do the work

    Guinea's treasure: a day in a bauxite mine

    Explosives do the work

    Daily blasts shake the Debele mine in the province of Kindia in western Guinea-Conakry. The workers use dynamite to blow up the quarry rock. The rock is made up of bauxite ore, one of the main components for aluminium production.


  • Traditional mining methods

    Guinea's treasure: a day in a bauxite mine

    Traditional mining methods

    The bauxite is collected once the smoke has cleared. Lorries transport the rock to the nearby factory, as they have done for decades. It's then broken down in a laborious and time-consuming method.

  • Machines rather than manpower

    Guinea's treasure: a day in a bauxite mine

    Machines rather than manpower

    An easier mining method is used in the open-pit mine next door. A rotary excavator completes several states of the work simultaneously. It digs up the bauxite rock from the ground, breaks it down and loads it on to the lorry. The workers' union is not happy that the excavator replaces 300 employees.

  • German know-how

    Guinea's treasure: a day in a bauxite mine

    German know-how

    The Russian mine operator bought the excavator from a German company. If the machinery breaks down, the chief engineer is brought in. He and his team received special training in Germany so they can repair the excavator.

  • A mineral-rich region

    Guinea's treasure: a day in a bauxite mine

    A mineral-rich region

    The quarry and the open-pit mine lie in western Guinea, near the border to Liberia. The bauxite extraction was started in 1972. Fifty percent of Guinea’s bauxite rock is rated as usable and is therefore of particularly high value.

  • Firmly in Russian hands

    Guinea's treasure: a day in a bauxite mine

    Firmly in Russian hands

    Russian firms have been operating in the country for over 20 years. The Moscow-based company Rusal is the current operator of the mines in Debele. About 1,200 people work here. Most of them live in the town of Kindia 50 kms away.

  • A small country with vast resources

    Guinea's treasure: a day in a bauxite mine

    A small country with vast resources

    Guinea is estimated to have 10 billion tonnes in bauxite reserves. This makes the small West African country the country with the most bauxite in the world. The state exports the mineral in large quantities and is thus able to fill its public coffers.

  • The people remain poor

    Guinea's treasure: a day in a bauxite mine

    The people remain poor

    Most of Guinea's population live off less than one US dollar a day. It is foreign companies that profit from the aluminum end-product. Guinea-Conakry has not been able to establish a domestic processing industry due to corruption and political instability.

  • Destination Ukraine

    Guinea's treasure: a day in a bauxite mine

    Destination Ukraine

    It's the end of a working day in Debele. The bauxite is ready for export. Rusal extracts 3.5 million tonnes of the valuable mineral per year. Subsequent processing mainly takes place in Ukraine. There, a high-energy method is used to extract the aluminum from the bauxite ore.

  • Dependent on the global market

    Guinea's treasure: a day in a bauxite mine

    Dependent on the global market

    The bauxite is transported by train to the port in Conakry. From there it is shipped to its destination. Five tonnes of bauxite result in about one tonne of aluminum. On the world market, this is worth about US$2,000.


    Author: Bob Barry / so | Editor : Susan Houlton

Who is buying Guinea's bauxite?