Guinea is in talks with commodities giant Glencore over potential investments in alumina refining and energy projects, days after the Swiss company signed a more than $300 million agreement to finance and market bauxite produced by Guinea’s state-owned Nimba Mining Company.
Guinea’s Mines Minister, Bouna Sylla, told Reuters that the bauxite agreement could serve as the basis for a broader partnership as the government seeks to move beyond exporting raw minerals and develop more processing capacity inside the country.
“Based on this agreement, we will develop the partnership with Glencore beyond bauxite, including alumina refining, energy and other strategic investments,” Sylla said.
Glencore declined to comment further on the proposed investments.
Under the agreement signed last week, Nimba Mining Company and Glencore agreed on more than $300 million in pre-financing and offtake arrangements covering Guinea’s bauxite production.
Glencore will market between 10 million and 12 million metric tonnes of bauxite annually for five years, potentially giving the commodities trader rights to market as much as 60 million tonnes over the life of the agreement.
Nimba Mining Company is wholly owned by the Guinean state and was established as part of the government’s strategy to increase national control over the country’s mineral resources and capture more value from mining.
The agreement gives the company financing as well as access to Glencore’s international commodities-marketing network.
The talks also form part of Conakry’s effort to diversify its investment partners and export markets, reducing its reliance on China as the dominant buyer of Guinean bauxite.
The government says it intends to build on the Glencore bauxite agreement by pursuing wider cooperation in alumina refining, energy and other strategic investments.