The Iran-Guinea bauxite project is finally back on track. The final feasibility report on bauxite mining near Guinea’s capital city Conarky was approved by government officials from both the countries on Tuesday, May 9.
Mehdi Karbasian, Chairman of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) and Abdoulaye Magassouba, Guinea's Minister of Mines and Geology, approved the ore extraction technology and process proposed by German consultants DMT GmBH, at a meeting held in Tehran. The two government authorities also came to terms regarding financing and operational cost reduction of the project.
The feasibility study reports that the Guinea government will invite bids from global bauxite mining companies for extraction and opening of the mine at the site.
The Islamic Development Bank, a Saudi Arabia based international Islamic financial institution AAA credit ratings from Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch has been identified as the funding body of the project.
According to the contract signed in 1992, Iran holds 51 per cent stake in the partnership project that was renewed in 2015 for another 25 years.
Guinea sits on a rich reserve of high metallurgical grade bauxite that totals 4 billion tonnes. The mineral zone commissioned to the Societ� des Bauxites de Dabola-Tougue alone holds over 70 million tons of the ore. SBDT is jointly owned by Iran and Guinea, Magassouba said.
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