UPDATE 1-Guinea Q1 Bauxite Output Rises 19 pct vs 2009 -Govt

CONAKRY, May 24 -- Bauxite production in No. 1 supplier Guinea rose 19 percent during the first quarter of 2010 due to an increase in global demand, according to a government document obtained by Reuters on Friday.
 
Gold output from the West African state, which depends on minerals exports for much of its foreign revenues, also rose sharply, according to the Finance Ministry document.
 
"In March 2010, cumulative volumes versus 2009 indicate an increase of 214 percent for gold and 19 percent for bauxite due to growth in demand," according to the document.
 
Production of bauxite, an ore used to make aluminum, hit 3.99 tonnes during the first three months of 2010, versus 3.35 million tonnes in the same period of 2009.
 
The rise in bauxite output marks a recovery to more normal levels in the world's top exporter after a combination of sliding world demand under the weight of the financial crisis and domestic political turmoil led mines to slow down their operations.
 
Production of alumina -- which is refined into aluminum -- fell around 10 percent to 102,280 tonnes. There was no official explanation for the decline.
 
Guinea is struggling to hold presidential elections on June 27 that could offer its best chance to emerge from decades of harsh authoritarian rule and a military regime that took over in a December 2008 coup.
 
Resource firms Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote) (RIO.AX: Quote) and RUSAL (0486.HK: Quote) are active in Guinea's bauxite and alumina industry, and Brazil's Vale (VALE.N: Quote) anounced a $2.5 billion iron ore joint venture deal in the country last month.
 
Guinea's total bauxite production reached 14.77 million tonnes in 2009, a 16.4 percent decline from 2008.
 
Below is a table of Q1 2010 minerals production in Guinea, compared to the same period of 2009, according to the Finance Ministry document: