Chinalco to increase its investment in Guinea Bauxite project at least 60 years
Hong Kong media said that Chinalco Group has begun to arrange the Guinea bauxite project. The company announced on the 10th that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Chinalco Hong Kong, has proposed to disburse US$163.8 million to further increase the investment in Guinea's Boffa bauxite project. The project is expected to start investment by the end of 2019 with an investment recovery period of approximately 9 years (including infrastructure period).
According to the Hong Kong Headlines Financial Network on June 11, the company initially estimated that the total capital investment in cash invested in the three joint ventures in the Boffa project, including mines, ports, and barges, will not exceed US$163.8 million, including capital for mining companies. Inject no more than US$142 million, inject no more than US$19 million into the port company, and inject no more than US$3 million into the barge company.
The Boffa project mining area is located in the northeast of the capital city of Bofa, Guinea, and is divided into two north and south mining areas with an area of 599 square kilometers and 658 square kilometers respectively. The project involves about US$706 million in funds and the funds are mainly invested in the construction of relevant mines, ports and lighter transport. The three tasks will be carried out at the same time. Separate investment entities will be set up to take charge of the operations and jointly serve the development and operation of the Boffa project.
According to the company's previous research and analysis, the Boffa project can use about 175 million tons of resource reserves, of which the alumina content is about 39.1% and the silica content is about 1.1%. It is estimated that the bauxite deposit in the Boffa mining area is expected to take at least 60 years to be mined, and the project will end after the resources are exhausted. The company stated that most of the bauxite produced by this project will be used by the Group for production use, mainly for the Group's enterprises in Guangxi and Shandong.
Chinalco and the Guinean government signed an agreement on October 31 last year that Chinalco will undertake the exploitation of the 131 bauxite project in the Boka region of Guinea. According to the agreement, Chinalco will complete the feasibility study of the bauxite project within six months.
On the morning of June 8, Guinean local time, Aluminum Corporation of China, China Aluminum Hong Kong Co., Ltd. and the Guinean government signed a Boffa project mining agreement in Guinea's capital Conakry, marking the development of China Aluminum's globalization strategy. A new journey has been opened on the layout.
It is understood that Guinea has rich mineral resources and has the world's largest reserves of bauxite resources. Mining is one of the main pillars of economic and social development in Guinea. Chalco is a leading company in China's non-ferrous metals industry, and is committed to becoming a world-class company with global competitiveness. It also clearly stated its goal of internationalized business planning in the 13th Five-Year Plan.
On October 31, 2016, Chinalco signed a cooperation framework agreement with the Guinean government and Guinea National Mining Company on the Boffa block development and cooperation. Since then, the two sides have gone through several rounds of negotiations and finally reached a mature condition for signing the Boffa project's mining agreement.
Chinalco will invest in the Boffa project of Chinalco Hong Kong through its investment and financing platform in Hong Kong, sign the contract with the government of Guinea on behalf of Chinalco, and build mining companies, port companies, and barges in Guinea respectively, in full compliance with international practices. The model operation of the global marketization management ensures the stable and continuous supply of China's aluminum bauxite resources. In accordance with the Boffa project mining agreement on the development and operation of the Boffa project, the Guinean government promised to provide corresponding protection in terms of local policies, environment, health, health and safety, finance, accounting, taxation and customs regulations, and after the mining agreement took effect, Promulgated as a law in Guinea, it effectively protects the investment interests of China Aluminum.
The signing of the Boffa Project Mining Agreement is a major measure taken by China Aluminum to respond to the national “One Belt and One Road” initiative, implement a global development layout, enhance the company’s sustainable development capabilities, and obtain stable overseas high-quality bauxite resources. Strategic significance. At the same time, the signing of the agreement has also contributed positively to promoting economic and social development in Guinea and promoting the establishment of a long-term strategic partnership between the two countries.
