GUINEA is to announce reforms next month aimed at restricting exports of bauxite, Bloomberg News reported on Monday. This comes after a surge in shipments from Guinea – which is the world’s largest producer of the ore – contributed to a near-halving of prices from their peak early last year.
Bauxite shipments from Guinea, which accounts for more than a third of global output, rose 25% to 183 million tons in 2025. Export growth accelerated yet further in the first quarter of this year, said Bloomberg.
Mines and geology minister Bouna Sylla said the glut had pushed prices down by almost 50%. “Supply mustn’t exceed demand,” Sylla was quoted as saying. “We want to regulate the quantity to raise prices back to reasonable levels.”
The government expects to finalise the new export policy, which was first flagged earlier this year, in June, said Bloomberg. Mining investors “have an interest in seeing prices rise,” Sylla added.
Guinea’s proposal is similar to steps taken by the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe which have restricted exports of cobalt and lithium. African resource-rich nations are seeking greater returns from raw materials shipped, predominantly to China.
Bauxite is refined into alumina before being processed further into aluminium. Most of Guinea’s output is exported to China, said Bloomberg.
The government is also pressing mining companies to build in-country refining capacity, said Bloomberg. Three alumina plants developed by China’s State Power Investment Corporation, Aluminum Corporation of China and a Singapore-registered consortium led by Winning International Group are already at the planning or construction stage.
Sylla said Guinea also intended to attract investment into an aluminium smelter, describing the progression from alumina to aluminium as “inevitable”.
