This is us

Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Emirates Global Aluminium, the world’s largest ‘premium aluminium’ producer. We produce and export metallurgical-grade bauxite, the ore from which aluminium is derived.

We operate a 690 square kilometre mining concession, located in the northwest of the Republic of Guinea, in West Africa. Our mining concession is almost seven times the size of Paris, and in the area to be developed before 2040 contains almost 400 million tonnes of bauxite mineral resources.

Once mined, bauxite ore is sent by rail to our port facilities in Kamsar, on Guinea’s Atlantic coast. It is then shipped by sea to customers around the world.

We began bauxite exports in August 2019, and once full ramp-up is achieved GAC is expected to produce some 12 million tonnes of bauxite a year. At full production, GAC will contribute an estimated US$ 700 million each year to Guinea’s economy, a 5.5 per cent contribution to our country’s GDP. Some 1,000 people work in our operations.

2001

A young publicly traded Canadian company, Global Alumina, obtains a mining concession from the Guinean government authorising it to build and operate an alumina refinery as well as the related infrastructure. 

2007

Global Alumina sell a majority interest in the project to BHP Billiton (33.33%), Mubadala (8.33%) and DUBAL (25%), while maintaining a holding of 33.33%.

2013

In July, Mubadala and DUBAL complete the acquisition of 100% of Guinea Alumina Corporation. DUBAL and Mubadala’s Emirates Aluminium later merge to form Emirates Global Aluminium.

2014

In June, following the signing, ratification and promulgation of the mining agreement and the signing of an addendum, the scope of the GAC project is ratified by the Guinean National Assembly.

Soon after, construction of the bauxite mine and associated export facilities got under way as part of the first phase of GAC’s investment in the country. The US$1.4 billion project was one of the largest greenfield investments in Guinea in the past 40 years, creating employment, economic opportunities and eventually revenues for the Guinean government.

The second phase of the GAC project envisages the construction of an alumina refinery where bauxite will be refined into alumina, the feedstock for aluminium smelters.

2015

GAC Director General Mamady Youla is appointed Prime Minister by the President of the Republic of Guinea. GAC’s Board of Director appoints Aissata Beavogui as Director General, making her the first women to ever hold such a high position in an international company in Guinea.

2018

In December, GAC’s construction project is completed at 75%. At peak, more than 4,650 people worked in construction, 85 per cent of them Guinean and 67 per cent from the Boké region.

2019

In May, GAC secures the largest ever project financing for a greenfield mining project in Guinea – a US$ 750 million loan extended by development finance institutions, export credit agencies and international commercial banks., GAC’s success in securing this project financing raises the profile of Guinea in international financial markets and sets a new benchmark for how Guinean projects can be financed, potentially improving Guinea’s access to international capital and boosting the national economy.

In August, GAC announces its first export of bauxite ore, marking the completion of major construction and the start of the commissioning phase for one of Guinea’s most important mining projects.