China's State Power Investment Corporation will build the largest alumina processing plant in Guinea in 2025

China's State Power Investment Corporation will begin construction of Guinea's largest alumina processing plant in 2025. The plant will be completed by the end of 2027 and produce 1.2 million tons of alumina per year.

SPIC, which has been active in Guinea's bauxite industry for the past three years, will begin construction in March 2025. Once the alumina refinery is put into operation, it will become the largest alumina refinery of its kind in the country, surpassing the existing Russian United Company Friguia refinery, which currently produces about 600,000 tons per year. The new plant will play a key role in helping Guinea increase the value of bauxite and promote economic growth and industrial development.

In addition to the alumina refinery, SPIC will also build a 250-megawatt power plant. Of the power generation, 100 megawatts will be supplied to Guinea's national grid to meet ongoing energy challenges and support the country's broader infrastructure needs.

The construction of the alumina processing plant is one of the Guinean government's initiatives to encourage mining companies to establish processing plants locally. The policy aims to increase domestic value-added production rather than exporting raw materials. Guinea is the world's largest exporter of bauxite, the main ore for producing alumina, which in turn is a key raw material for aluminum production.

Guinea's focus on increasing local processing capacity is also reflected in its recent actions against foreign mining companies. In November 2024, the government blocked bauxite shipments from Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) until the company accelerated its refinery project in the country. This reflects the government's determination to see more value-added processing take place on site rather than relying solely on raw material exports.

Guinea has set a strict timeline for the project, and SPIC could lose its mining concession if it fails to achieve commercial production by December 2028. The agreement between SPIC and Guinea's military government marks the deepening cooperation between China and Guinea in the mining industry, further consolidating China's influence in the region's natural resource industry.