The Guinean government has reported that hundreds of square miles once used for farming have been acquired by mining companies for their operations and associated roads, railways and ports. Villagers have received little or no compensation, rights activists and locals say.
Guinea is already seeing an unprecedented boom in its bauxite exports, which increased almost fivefold from 2015 to 2020, according to U.S. government statistics, and analysts predict production will continue to increase dramatically over the next decade.
SMB shipped its first ton of bauxite from Guinea within six months, even before the Environment Ministry had concluded its impact assessments, rights activists said.
IDI noted that some automakers have raised concerns, for instance when 11 American, European and Japanese companies wrote in 2021 to the Aluminum Association trade group, expressing their “concern about the situation in Guinea” and endorsing the mediation efforts between CBG and the villages.
SMB quickly overtook the Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée — a 50-year-old multinational jointly owned by the Guinean government and private companies, including the American firm Alcoa and the Anglo-Australian firm Rio Tinto — to become Guinea’s biggest bauxite producer.
The aluminum supply chain for American automakers, including Ford, General Motors and Tesla, includes bauxite mined by both of the major producers in Guinea, according to a 2021 report by Human Rights Watch and Inclusive Development International, a U.S.-based advocacy group that aims to defend communities threatened by corporate development.