Corporate profile
Guinea Alumina Corporation is the bauxite mining subsidiary of Emirates Global Aluminium, the world’s largest ‘premium aluminium’ producer. We mine and move bauxite, the ore from which aluminium is derived.
We operate a 690-square kilometre mining concession, located in the northwest of Guinea. In the area to be developed by 2040, our concession 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. Our facilities include some of the largest pieces of equipment ever installed in an African mining project.
The Republic of Guinea in West Africa is the world's largest bauxite resource holder, with more than a quarter of the known global endowment of this important mineral for modern life.
GAC’s bauxite has one of the highest ratios of alumina to silica, as well as relatively low boehmite. These properties make it suitable for processing in a wide range of refinery operating conditions, from low to high temperatures as well as double-digestion refineries at comparably low operating costs.
We are committed to maximising the local economic benefit of our activity.
More than 3,200 people work at GAC, over 96 per cent Guinean, and we made more than $283 million in direct expenditures in Guinea in 2023.
As a subsidiary of EGA, we embed sustainability in everything we do. Safety is our first priority, and our safety performance is significantly better than global mining benchmarks.
GAC was the first company in Guinea to achieve certification to the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative’s Performance Standards.
We comply with the Equator Principles, the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards and regulatory requirements of the Guinean government.
We work hard to maintain good relationships with our neighbours, and invest beyond our obligations in community development.
From health awareness programmes to vocational training and environmental projects, we have invested millions of dollars in community initiatives that have enabled recipients to conduct income-generating activities and support their families and communities.
GAC began production in 2019. EGA spent some $1.4 billion to develop GAC, in one of the largest greenfield investments in Guinea in the past 40 years. More than half the funds were provided by a $750 million loan from development finance institutions, export credit agencies and international commercial banks in the largest greenfield mining project financing ever in Guinea.
A second phase of GAC’s development envisages the construction of an alumina refinery in Guinea, delivering further value for the nation.