COUNTRY IN FOCUS
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It was pointed out during the symposium that there was a need
for the sector to follow a sustainable path capable of supporting
the economic development of the nation. The Guinean
government is interested in profi t sharing, employment,
housing and educating the communities around mining
operations. It was stressed that there was also a need to develop
non-industrial infrastructure and other key sectors in the region,
such as agriculture benefi tting from the newly constructed
infrastructure. The government representatives hinted at
restrictions in exploration and mining permitting, should the
investment in the local communities not realise.
arlier this year, Conakry hosted Guinea’s Symposium of
Mines, where the opportunities and challenges were
discussed to fulfi l the mining potential of the country,
the need to improve infrastructure and attract foreign
investment. Currently bauxite and gold mining account
for about 13% of the country’s GDP. Despite its geological
potential, Guinea is ranked 175th of 189 African countries
by the Human Development Index.
Guinean president Alpha Condé wanted to change the constitution to
allow him to serve a third term as president.
The UK’s Department of International Trade present at the
symposium suggested that strong policy and governance
frameworks, and clear human rights policies are an essential
requirement of investors and capital markets throughout the
mining life cycle. They also referred to multi-user agreements
to help deliver opportunities for economic diversifi cation and
growth that will endure post-closure of the mine. which is expected to be brought into production before 2021.
In addition to the 450MW supplied at capacity, Souapiti will
help regulate the water fl ow of the Konkouré river, allowing
the nearby Kaléta dam to operate at full capacity. Designed to
operate with Souapiti, Kaléta has only a small reservoir of its
own and thus can only produce around 40MW of a total 240MW
during the dry season.
Attempts to improve infrastructure There is also work in progress to install fi bre optic networks
to improve access to ICT. A modernised mining cadastre was
launched in 2016 which provides real time information on
mining licenses online.
The renewed push to improve infrastructure in the country
will not only serve the mining sector, but all the peripheral
industries. The government is becoming more experienced
in managing big ticket projects. These projects will, however,
require global input and front-end planning from qualifi ed
international practitioners.
Earlier attempts to adopt a new mining code that would
change the way mining companies operate, requiring
them to pay more tax and protect the environment and the
interests of communities around their mines, was revised
after companies froze billions of dollars of investments in the
country, and the government showed a willingness to relax
the rules for favoured partners. Concerns have however been
raised following hints that the president Alpha Condé wanted
to change the constitution to allow him to serve a third term
as president.
Road map for growth
A roadmap has been developed to accelerate the development
of Guinea. The key points are to strengthen democracy,
the establishment of major institutions, economic stability
and to make Guinea accessible to foreign investment. The
roadmap focuses on fl agship projects to strengthen business
opportunities, for example, improving the country’s status on
‘Doing Business’ rankings and on the Mo Ibrahim Index.
Guinea aims to signifi cantly increase electricity production.
The fi rst step to reach this goal was the construction of the
240MW Kaléta hydroelectric facility on the Konkoure River
in west central Guinea in 2015. Chinese state-owned China
International Water & Electric Corporation (CIWEC) constructed
the USD526-million scheme, which the company says has an
average annual generating capacity of 965 million kWh. Other
measures include work on the Souapiti Dam, investment in
solar energy programmes and rehabilitation and modernisation
of the transmission and electrical distribution network. A
450MW hydroelectric plant is being built by CIWEC at Souapiti,
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African Mining Publication
Investment in mining
The year 2019 has been eventful from a mine development
perspective. In April, Russian company Nordgold increased
its investment in the Lefa Mine. Since acquiring the mine in
2010, the company has spent in the order of USD1-billion
and maintains its position as one of Guinea’s largest gold
producers. The company has received a new 15-year permit,
that is in line with the current expected life-of-mine. Predictive
Discovery is currently undertaking multiple early-stage
exploration programmes across its portfolio of 100%-owned
Guinea projects with encouraging initial results so far from its
Kankan and Nonta projects.
The drop in iron ore production from South America, due to the
Vale dam burst in Brazil and the cyclones aff ecting production
in Australia, revitalised the interest in Guinea’s iron deposits.
Rio Tinto announced in June that the company would renew
work on the Simandou iron ore project, where it holds a 45.05%
stake in blocks 3 and 4. The government launched international
tenders for blocks 1 and 2, with the expression on interest
process having been concluded in August of this year. This
follows the conclusion of a protracted legal case with billionaire
Beny Steinmetz's BSG Resources (BSGR), that opted to walk away
from Simandou, but retain the rights to the Zogota deposit,
where the ore will be exported via a Liberian route.
The Simandou deposit is currently one of the largest untapped
high-grade iron ore resources in the world. It contains over
2 billion tons of ore and has an expected life-of-mine in excess
of 40 years. Most of the current work is focused around updating
the current plans and a strategy on how to export the ore
via the country’s own port, as this is a requirement set by the
government. This would include the construction of a 650km-
long trans-Guinea railway line from Simandou mine to the new
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