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Mining company Axis International said Monday it was seeking World Bank arbitration against Guinea for withdrawing its right to operate a major bauxite mine in the West African country.
Guinea, which a junta has run since a coup in 2021, has cancelled dozens of licences for international and domestic companies mining bauxite, gold, iron ore or diamonds over recent months.
Axis International, headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, had operated Guinea’s second-largest bauxite mine with estimated reserves of more than 800 million tonnes since 2010.
The company said it has appealed to the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a World Bank organisation based in Washington, DC, seeking $28 billion in compensation from Guinea’s government.
Axis International said in a statement that it had previously made several attempts for an amicable settlement, which the junta in Conakry ignored. The company said it rejected Guinea’s argument that the mine was non-operational and under-exploited.
General Mamady Doumbouya, who seized power four years ago, has made the exploitation of Guinea’s mining reserves a priority for his government. In November, the government launched the exploitation of one of the world’s biggest iron ore deposits, Simandou in the southeast of the country, with a major ceremony.
Guinea is among the world’s key producers of bauxite, a key raw material for aluminium production. It also has significant deposits of iron ore, diamonds, gold and uranium. But the distribution of income from their exploitation is seen as inequitable, with mining companies benefiting more than the local population.
Experts put this down to a lack of investment in local economic development and infrastructure, especially roads, as well as to corruption and shortcomings in the legal framework.
