Guinea launches $1.2 billion alumina refinery to boost local bauxite processing
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Guinea has launched the construction of a $1.2 billion alumina refinery in Dobali, Boké Prefecture, in a bid to scale up domestic processing and capture more value from its vast bauxite reserves. The project, developed by Winning Consortium Alumina Guinea (WCAG), was inaugurated on December 12 in the presence of senior government officials, diplomats, industrial partners, and local representatives.
The planned refinery will have an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes of alumina sourced from locally mined bauxite. WCAG said the facility will generate employment, enhance local content, and facilitate skill and technology transfer in Boké and the broader Lower Guinea region. The company noted that it will employ energy-efficient technologies compliant with international environmental standards.
According to the Guinean government, the project forms part of President Mamadi Doumbouya’s Simandou 2040 Sustainable and Responsible Socio-Economic Development Programme, which seeks to diversify the mining sector and promote downstream industrialisation through local processing initiatives.
By increasing domestic alumina production, Guinea aims to strengthen its industrial infrastructure and reduce dependence on raw material exports. As one of the world’s largest bauxite suppliers, the country expects the refinery to support long-term job creation, boost exports, and deepen its economic diversification strategy.
