**5.3 Expansion plans and future GHG emissions**

Since 2015 Guinea's government has consistently signaled strong interest in expanding bauxite mining, as well as in-country alumina refining and aluminum smelting. Specifically, all new mining concessions have included rights for alumina refineries, most notably a USD 2.8 B investment from the Chinese company

TBEA [36]. TBEA plans to bring its alumina refinery online by June 2021 and to start smelter construction by 2025. (Because TBEA's concession is not yet available, it is not included in Appendix A). In addition to private-sector funds, the World Bank's [37] investment matching program has facilitated the mining industry's rapid expansion. Guinea's stated goal is to grow extraction refining from 0.6 to >1 Mt by 2024 [38], thereby boosting GDP and generating considerable demand for local employment, though it is not clear that local workers will benefit from these new concessions. More concerning than the lack of transparency about staffing plans in these new concessions is the extraordinary increase in GHG emissions that will accompany alumina and aluminum productions (**Figure 4**). The likely impact on

International, sectorial, and industry standards can ensure that mining companies follow best practices, especially if mutual monitoring by competing bauxite companies of one another's compliance was embedded in compliance plans. The Guinea Sustainable Bauxite Mining Consortium, founded as a vehicle for GCF support, is one such opportunity. Additional standards are published by the IFC, the ICMM, the Aluminum Stewardship Initiative (ASI), and the Business and Biodiversity Offsets Programme (BBOP). However, because few of the companies operating in Guinea are publicly traded and therefore less likely to feel pressure from shareholders regarding accurate and timely environmental reporting, consensual oversight among peer companies is particularly important. Guinea's laws and industry guidelines include provisions and methods for rehabilitating exhausted mines with local collab-

oration [39]. However, this has had limited success in the Boké Region [22].

Given limitations on Guinea's capacity to enforce its regulatory requirements and to create transparency around the environmental impact assessments required by law, it was prudent to look to other, less conventional pathways to help prioritize mining and refining processes that will decrease the magnitude of environmental

near-term GHG emissions is shown in **Figure 5**.

*Sustainably Growing Guinea's Bauxite-Aluminum Industry*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86471*

**6. A shared values approach to solutions**

**5.4 Regulations and standards**

**Figure 5.**

**57**

*Future GHG emissions.*

**Figure 4.** *Current GHG emissions.*


#### **Table 3.** *Average GHG EFs by process [34].*

*Sustainably Growing Guinea's Bauxite-Aluminum Industry DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86471*

needs. For the purpose of calculating conservative GHG estimates, the proportion of hydroelectric power in the industry's overall energy mix was assumed to be consistent with regional averages in Africa (i.e., 43% [34]), compared to Guinea's actual proportion of hydroelectric power, approximately 56% [35]. This GHG analysis only considered the industry's current direct emissions, and not secondary emissions from transportation between facilities or to end users. GHG emissions are expressed throughout this chapter as t of CO2 equivalents or tCO2e. **Table 2** and **Figure 4** summarize annual bauxite-aluminum production and GHG emissions for 2008–2018. Emission factors (EFs) used to calculate GHG emissions for each step in the aluminum production process are summarized in **Table 3**. EFs are provided per t of material produced in each step and per t of aluminum produced across each step. To determine EFs, the relative proportions of material required to produce 1 t

Consistent with Guinea's strategic plan, bauxite production has increased rapidly

since 2016. Guinea's alumina refinery had not been operating, so recent GHG

Since 2015 Guinea's government has consistently signaled strong interest in expanding bauxite mining, as well as in-country alumina refining and aluminum smelting. Specifically, all new mining concessions have included rights for alumina refineries, most notably a USD 2.8 B investment from the Chinese company

**Process stage GHG EF GHG EF normalized to 1 t aluminum** Bauxite mining 0.02 tCO2e/t of bauxite <0.1 tCO2e/t of aluminum Alumina refining 1.69 tCO2e/t of alumina 3.8 tCO2e/t of aluminum Aluminum\* production 12.7 tCO2e/t of aluminum 12.7 tCO2e/t of aluminum Total to produce 1 t aluminum 16.5 tCO2e/t of aluminum

*Includes anode paste (0.6 tCO2e) + electrolysis (11.9 tCO2e) + ingot casting (0.2 tCO2e).*

emissions were negligible, though refining resumed in early 2018.

of aluminum (described in Section 4) were assumed.

*Regional Development in Africa*

**5.3 Expansion plans and future GHG emissions**

**Figure 4.**

*\**

**56**

**Table 3.**

*Average GHG EFs by process [34].*

*Current GHG emissions.*

TBEA [36]. TBEA plans to bring its alumina refinery online by June 2021 and to start smelter construction by 2025. (Because TBEA's concession is not yet available, it is not included in Appendix A). In addition to private-sector funds, the World Bank's [37] investment matching program has facilitated the mining industry's rapid expansion. Guinea's stated goal is to grow extraction refining from 0.6 to >1 Mt by 2024 [38], thereby boosting GDP and generating considerable demand for local employment, though it is not clear that local workers will benefit from these new concessions. More concerning than the lack of transparency about staffing plans in these new concessions is the extraordinary increase in GHG emissions that will accompany alumina and aluminum productions (**Figure 4**). The likely impact on near-term GHG emissions is shown in **Figure 5**.

#### **5.4 Regulations and standards**

International, sectorial, and industry standards can ensure that mining companies follow best practices, especially if mutual monitoring by competing bauxite companies of one another's compliance was embedded in compliance plans. The Guinea Sustainable Bauxite Mining Consortium, founded as a vehicle for GCF support, is one such opportunity. Additional standards are published by the IFC, the ICMM, the Aluminum Stewardship Initiative (ASI), and the Business and Biodiversity Offsets Programme (BBOP). However, because few of the companies operating in Guinea are publicly traded and therefore less likely to feel pressure from shareholders regarding accurate and timely environmental reporting, consensual oversight among peer companies is particularly important. Guinea's laws and industry guidelines include provisions and methods for rehabilitating exhausted mines with local collaboration [39]. However, this has had limited success in the Boké Region [22].
