Alumina refineries: Guinea is industrialising its bauxite

01 Key figures

02 The plan: 5-6 refineries by 2030

On 12/11/2025, Mines Minister Bouna Sylla announced the target: build 5 to 6 alumina refineries by 2030, lifting local processing capacity to about 7 million tonnes per year (Reuters via Guinéenews, 12/11/2025). His line: 'No refinery has been built since the colonial era. That is about to change.'

Context recalled by La Tribune (15/12/2025): Guinea holds about a third of world bauxite reserves, exported 145 Mt of bauxite in 2024 — and operates only one refinery, at Fria. In June 2026 the ministry restated: 'five refineries by 2030… we are at 3' (mines.gov.gn, 14/06/2026).

03 The three sites, project by project

Sources: dated official announcements — presidence.gov.gn and mines.gov.gn (12/2025, 06/2026) · primature.gov.gn (17-18/08/2026 for SPIC) · Reuters/Guinéenews (12/11/2025) · Africaguinee (14/06/2026). Discrepancies between official sources are reported, never merged.

• SPIC (Boffa) — 'the first since independence': ~USD 1bn agreement signed in late December 2024 (Guinéenews, 30/12/2024); works started 26/03/2025. Announced components: 250 MW captive power plant (100 MW to the grid), 35,000 t wharf, 600 direct jobs (Guinéenews, 28/03/2025). The project's water reservoir was declared of national interest by decree on 16/06/2026 (Mosaïqueguinée); progress review with the Prime Minister on 17/08/2026 (primature.gov.gn). Commissioning announced for end-2027.
• WCAG (Dobali, Boké) — 'the second' (mines.gov.gn, 12/2025): shareholders Winning Shipping Ltd (Singapore), Shandong Weiqiao (China) and UMS (Guinea); works launched 12/12/2025 under the Simandou 2040 strategic committee. Announced ~300 MW power plant; 10,000 to 12,000 direct and indirect jobs depending on the source. Commissioning announced for end-2028.
• CHALCO (Boffa) — 'the third' (mines.gov.gn, 06/2026): amended and consolidated mining agreement signed 21/05/2026; works launched 13/06/2026 at Lisso-Démougala (~40 km from Boffa); ratified by ordinance on 03/07/2026 then approved by the National Assembly on 03/08/2026, with reservations over state guarantees. CHINALCO's first alumina refining project outside China. ~1,000 direct and 12,000 indirect jobs announced; 500 scholarships over 20 years and an engineering school in the programme (DCI via Guinéenews/Guinee7, 22/05/2026). No detailed delivery schedule published (Africtelegraph, 23/05/2026); works completion announced for 2029 (36-month duration — Africaguinee, 14/06/2026).

04 Fria: the only existing plant (1960)

The country's only alumina refinery was built by Péchiney and inaugurated on 30 April 1960 at Fria — Africa's first alumina plant (Wikipedia, consulted 02/09/2026). Official capacity: 600,000 t/yr (Rusal), up to 650,000 t/yr per other sources; actual output estimated between ~400,000 and ~450,000 t/yr in 2022-2023 (Guinee7).

• 2012-2018: shutdown after the April 2012 strike; production quietly restarted in 2018 (Jeune Afrique, 06/2018).
• 2025: per the Guinean press, the state has held 100% of the shares since February 2025, after the end of the lease-management agreement signed with Rusal in 2000 [single source — GuinéeQuotidien, 07/06/2025]; strikes in July 2025; the plant was still running in December 2025 (Guinee7, Guineelive).

05 Why now

Three forces converged in 2025-2026:

• Falling bauxite prices: world prices lost 20 to 35% versus their 2025 peaks (Reuters, 16/03/2026). See the 2026 context on the reference price page →
• Export restrictions: Guinea announced it would curb bauxite exports from April 2026 to support prices (Reuters, 18/03/2026) — export less, process more.
• Pressure on operators: the suspension of GAC's exports in mid-2024 was part of 'broader pressure on bauxite operators to commit to building alumina refineries' (Agence Ecofin, 06/05/2026). GAC lost its concession in 2025; an amicable settlement was announced on 06/05/2026.

06 What we know / what we don't know

• We know: the official target (5-6 plants, ~7 Mt/yr — 12/11/2025) · the three launched sites and their announced capacities (1.2 Mt/yr each) · the discrepancies between official figures (WCAG: ~USD 1bn vs >USD 1.2bn; Chalco: ~USD 1bn vs USD 1.68bn) · only one existing refinery (Fria, 1960) · the Chalco ratification calendar (ordinance 03/07/2026, National Assembly 03/08/2026).
• We don't know: the actual physical progress of the sites (no independent monitoring published — no WCAG follow-up article between 12/2025 and 09/2026) · the state's stake in SPIC and WCAG (not published) · Fria's actual output since 2024 · the capacity and cost of the CBG and Alcoa projects (not published) · Chalco's detailed schedule · the status of the state's participation option in Chalco (5% free of charge, option up to 35% — Bloomberg via Construction Review, single source).

07 Related