Bauxite Supply to be Affected by Political Turmoil in Guinea

SHANGHAI, Sep 6 (SMM) - Guinea’s borders were closed and its constitution was declared invalid in the announcement read aloud on state television by army Col. Mamadi Doumbouya. Mutinous soldiers in the West African nation of Guinea detained President Alpha Conde and some high-level officials on Sunday after hours of heavy gunfire rang out near the presidential palace in the capital.

Guinea is China’s largest source of imported bauxite. China imported 111.587 million mt of bauxite in 2020, up 10.9% year on year, of which 52.6701 million mt were imported from Guinea, accounting for 47.2% of the total imports, a year-on-year increase of 18.51%. Guinea boasts abundant bauxite reserves and relatively high cost performance. Its resources are popular among alumina plants in Shandong, which are also used in low-temperature ore in Shanxi and Henan in 2019. 

Alumina plants in Shandong and inland provinces keep 3-6 months or even higher stocks of imported bauxite. The cape-type ocean freight from Guinea to China’s major ports stood at $38/mt, nearly doubled from the same period last year. The CIF transaction and quotations of Guinea ore (aluminium 45%, silicon 3%-5%) at Chinese ports stood at $48-54/mt, up $5/mt on the year. This accident may push Guinea CIF prices higher.