How did an industry newcomer win such a valuable concession opportunity over the established, integrated aluminum companies?
Global Alumina was founded by industrial development experts who acted early and decisively on their vision of assisting Guinea to capture the tremendous additional value inherent in processing its rich bauxite resources through development of world-class, green-field alumina refineries. Prior to Global Alumina’s initiative, the established aluminum companies invested heavily in refining capacity elsewhere, including Australia and Brazil, where low-cost expansions were able to serve growing demand. Now that the industry recognizes that additional (higher-cost) green-field capacity will be necessary to serve the future growth, many of these traditional companies, including Alcoa, Alcan, CVRD, Chalco, UC Rusal and Mitsubishi, are considering refinery development in Guinea. Guinea Alumina, however, enjoys a five-year development advantage and the advantage of priority access to existing scarce rail and port infrastructure.
