GAC starts planned ecological rehabilitation of two mining plat-eaux, in programme that creates local economic opportunity

Kamsar, Tuesday, 27 June 2023: Guinea Alumina Corporation S.A. (GAC) announced today the start of a planned rehabilitation programme for Plateaux 20 and 26, located within the districts of Tanènè Centre and Dambantchian in the Rural Community of Tanènè, creating local economic opportunity as well as restoring the environment.

Rehabilitating mined areas is an integral part of GAC’s commitment to the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Performance Standard 6 (PS6), which promotes biodiversity conservation and sustainable natural resource management.

An important aspect of GAC’s rehabilitation programme is local community involvement. Local communities are supported to establish plant nurseries, from which GAC buys seedlings for rehabilitation projects. By directly involving local communities, GAC not only ensures the supply of quality seedlings, but also promotes a steady income stream for people.

The plateaux 20 and 26 project will rehabilitate 120 hectares by planting 100,000 seedlings. Half the planned plants are used by local communities for medicinal and timber purposes, while the other half have ecological value.

Zohra Mehedi, GAC’s Environmental manager stated, ‘Ecological rehabilitation of mined areas is a core part of how we operate at GAC. Engaging local communities in this effort creates an additional economic opportunity from our mining operation, as well as securing a steady supply of high-quality young trees and other ecologically valuable plants. We work with local communities to help them establish plant nurseries, and provide training on best horticultural practices. Our ulti-mate goal is to contribute to prosperity and improved well-being around us.’

In 2022, GAC rehabilitated 115 hectares of mined land within its concession, using 93,629 plants from nurseries in Diarabaka (15,000 plants), Sangaredi (35,000 plants), Belikindy (22,556 plants) and Beavogui (21,073 plants) for a total cost of GNF 649,226,000.