Guinea has renewed a 25-year agreement with Iran to allow it to continue producing bauxite.
Iran will hold a 51-percent stake in the project, the Societe des Bauxites de Dabola-Tougue, which permits production over 5,684 square kilometers once a fresh feasibility study has been conducted. Guinea holds the minority stake, according to the contract, first signed in 1992, Reuters Africa reported.
The documents were signed at the end of July by Guinean Minister of Mines Kerfalla Yansané and Iranian Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh.
The concession includes 13 bauxite plateaus at Dabola and 12 at Tougue, both in central Guinea, which have a combined reserve of 600 million tons.
A study in 2010 estimated that the project could be worth $505 million over three years.
Guinea says it has the world’s largest supplies of bauxite, used to make aluminum, but is ranked fourth in exports. The government says it can boost production by 30 percent before the end of 2016.
SBDT will produce in an area where there is no current mining. The Bauxite Company of Guinea, another joint venture involving Guinea and an international consortium, produced 15.2 million tons in 2014. Compagnie des Bauxites de Kindia, also a joint venture, produced around 2.5 million tons.
