GAC connects its rail spurs to existing railway lines

Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC) SA, a major contributor in the mining sector in Guinea, today announced the completion of work to connect its railway spurs at Kamsar with the existing railway line between the mining area north of Sangaredi and the coast.

The completion of railway connections is another milestone in the development of GAC’s bauxite mine and export project. GAC’s project is one of the largest greenfield investments in Guinea in the past 40 years and first bauxite exports are expected during the second half of 2019.

The team responsible for performing the railway connection work was made of some 1,000 people of which 90% were nationals and was completed safely and on schedule. Bauxite from GAC’s mine will be transported to the rail by coast, using existing railway lines.

GAC’s production is expected to ramp up to some 12 million tonnes of bauxite per year.

This railway connection work included the completion of two receiving tracks plus an outgoing track at the port facility, completing the rail transport infrastructure needed for operations at Kamsar.

Steeve Tremblay, Project Director at GAC, said: “Completing this transport infrastructure is a huge achievement for the team, and a major step towards first bauxite. This infrastructure is critical for us to deliver value to our shareholders and Guinea for decades to come and I am pleased that we completed this work safely and on schedule.”

More than 3,200 Guineans, almost 80 per cent from the Boké region, are currently working to construct the Guinea Alumina Corporation project. GAC has a total budgeted project cost of approximately $1.4 billion.

GAC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emirates Global Aluminium, which was the world’s largest ‘premium aluminium’ producer in 2017.