World’s top bauxite exporter Guinea is building its own mining giant with 14 million-tonne target

Nimba Mining Company, which is wholly owned by the Guinean state, is targeting annual bauxite production of at least 14 million tonnes within the next two to five years while expanding into alumina, gold and base metals.

The company also plans to introduce monthly tenders for some of its bauxite, opening sales to international commodity traders and miners as Guinea tries to establish Nimba as a commercially run producer rather than simply another vehicle for government participation in the mining industry.

Mines Minister Bouna Sylla told Reuters that companies including Mercuria, Glencore, Rio Tinto and Vedanta could participate in the tenders.

The plan comes days after Guinea selected commodities giant Glencore through an international tender as an offtaker for Nimba’s bauxite, although negotiations on the final agreement were still underway.

Under the emerging sales model, Nimba intends to secure a buyer for a guaranteed minimum volume of its annual production while selling additional cargoes through monthly spot tenders.

It is another step in the rapid development of a company that did not exist a little over a year ago.

Guinea builds its own miner

Nimba was created in August 2025 and is wholly owned by the Guinean state. Its emergence followed an escalating dispute between Guinea and Guinea Alumina Corporation, the local subsidiary of UAE aluminium producer Emirates Global Aluminium.

Guinea withdrew GAC’s mining concession and transferred its assets to Nimba after accusing the company of failing to comply with obligations under the country’s mining framework.

The dispute was particularly significant because GAC was not a marginal operator. EGA had invested heavily in developing its Guinean operation, including a mine, rail infrastructure and export facilities in the country’s bauxite-rich Boké region.

Relations deteriorated as Guinea increased pressure on mining companies to process more of the country’s minerals domestically rather than export raw ore.

The confrontation was eventually resolved. In May 2026, the Guinean government, GAC and EGA announced an amicable settlement covering disputes arising from the suspension of GAC’s activities and interruptions to EGA’s Guinean bauxite supplies.

The settlement provided for the transfer of GAC assets to Nimba for development of the Sangarédi bauxite project, while Guinea agreed to make a lump-sum payment to GAC. It also restored a commercial framework for bauxite supplies to EGA through Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée.

That settlement effectively cleared an important obstacle to Guinea’s attempt to turn Nimba into a major producer.

Production has since accelerated. Nimba said in August that it had exported more than five million tonnes of bauxite since its creation and is targeting 10 million tonnes of shipments in 2026. It expects annual capacity to increase to 12 million tonnes from 2027.

The company has also signed a five-year mining subcontracting agreement with IBS Group covering a minimum of 32 million tonnes from the Tinguilinta bauxite mine.

Its longer-term target is even larger. Nimba wants annual bauxite production of at least 14 million tonnes within two to five years, while bringing an alumina refinery into construction, developing a gold mine and advancing a base-metals project towards bankable feasibility.

The company says expansion will be financed primarily by reinvesting earnings from its operations rather than depending on proceeds from Guinea’s giant Simandou iron ore project.

From bauxite exporter to mining owner

The strategy represents a potentially important change in how Guinea wants to benefit from one of the world’s largest mineral endowments.

Guinea has become increasingly important to the global aluminium supply chain as production of bauxite, the ore used to make alumina and ultimately aluminium, has surged.

The country exported a record 182.8 million tonnes in 2025, a 25% increase from the previous year.

China accounted for about 74% of those exports, illustrating how heavily the world’s largest aluminium producer has come to depend on Guinean ore.

That relationship has helped transform Guinea into the world’s largest bauxite exporter but has also reinforced a longstanding challenge for the country: much of its mineral wealth leaves in relatively unprocessed form.

President Mamadi Doumbouya’s government has increasingly tried to change that model.

Authorities have tightened enforcement of mining agreements, pushed operators to build domestic processing facilities and revoked licences from companies the government says have failed to meet their obligations.

At the same time, Guinea has finally moved the giant Simandou iron ore project into production, potentially adding another major mineral export stream to an economy already heavily exposed to mining.

Nimba adds another dimension to that strategy. Instead of limiting the state’s role to collecting taxes and royalties or holding minority interests in projects operated by international companies, Guinea is attempting to establish a mining company capable of owning assets, producing minerals and competing for buyers itself.

Its ambitions are already spreading beyond bauxite. In March, Australian-listed Resolute Mining signed an agreement with Nimba to evaluate gold opportunities in Guinea, with the companies considering potential joint development of projects.

Nimba’s longer-term strategy also includes alumina and base metals. For Guinea, the challenge will be turning those ambitions into a commercially competitive business while maintaining the investment needed to expand production.

But the scale of the country’s existing bauxite industry gives Nimba an unusually large platform from which to start.

At its targeted 14 million tonnes a year, Nimba would still account for less than a tenth of Guinea’s current annual bauxite exports.