West African nation Guinea has unveiled a series of infrastructure and legal measures to help improve the flow of bauxite exports.
Bauxite producer Societe Miniere de Boke (SMB) is set to spend $1.2bn to build a railway linking its mining operations with the port of Dapilon.
SMB, which is a joint venture between Winning Shipping, Guinea, Shandong Weiqiao Aluminium & Power Co and UMS International, says work on the 135 km line will start within 18 months.
Separately, Guinea’s government has also approved the setting up of a national agency to regulate the transportation of bauxite.
The agency will reportedly manage a fleet of 1,000 vessels over the next three years, according to a recent government statement.
“The agency will also enable the management of environmental, safety and security issues,” the statement added.
Guinea is home to more than a quarter of the worlds bauxite reserves and is the largest exporter of the commodity to China.
Chinese bauxite imports increased by 10% over the first nine months of 2018 compared to the same period of last year.
China imported 68.8mt of bauxite in 2017, up 32.8% from 51.8mt the previous year, according to figures from Banchero Costa.
“The increase has continued to be driven by strong volumes from Guinea, from which we estimate shipments to China have increased close to 40% year-on-year over January to September 2018,” the shipbroker told TradWinds last month.
Guinea has overtaken Australia as the top bauxite supplier to China since 2017, following extensive Chinese investment in Guinea’s mines and logistics infrastructure.
