Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has signed a three-year deal with China’s Bosai Minerals Group, local reports say.
Under the deal, EGA will supply Bosai Minerals Group with several million tonnes of bauxite ore from the Republic of Guinea, with the first shipment expected in January 2022.
EGA has supplied Bosai Minerals Group over one million tonnes of bauxite in 2021 under short-term agreements.
Bauxite is the ore from which aluminium is derived.
EGA’s bauxite mining subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation made the company the second-biggest supplier in the world last year of bauxite ore to third-party customers.
Yuan Zhilun, Chairman of Bosai Minerals Group, said, “We welcome EGA as a long-term supplier of bauxite to Bosai Group, and look forward to the reliable supply of Guinean ore over the years ahead to drive our business.”
Abdulnasser bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of EGA said, “We are delighted that Bosai Minerals Group joins a group of long-term EGA bauxite customers that is geographically-balanced in four key regions.”
The reports say that EGA invested around $1.4bn in the development of GAC, one of the largest greenfield investments in Guinea in the past 40 years.
GAC began production in 2019 and operates a 690-square kilometer mining concession which is located in the northwest of Guinea.
After mining, the bauxite is transported to GAC’s port at Kamsar by train using shared rail infrastructure, as per local sources.
EGA operates a transshipment facility in Guinea, enabling its bauxite to be shipped using giant Capesize vessels, lowering shipment costs per ton.