FRANK, get something like this done and I will be more than happy to issue you with your performance shares you want. At last year's AGM you assured me there are investors interested in Laos, particularly from the Middle East. What has happened to them?
DJ Guinea Signs $5 Billion Pact With UAE Alumina Joint Venture 26/11/2013 05:56AM AEST
By Alex MacDonald
NEW YORK--Guinea signed an agreement with a United Arab Emirates joint venture called Guinea Alumina Corp. under which the latter will invest $5 billion to build a bauxite mine, port and alumina refinery in the West African nation.
GAC will build a bauxite mine in Sangaredi for export and build a multiuser port in Kamsar, both of which are forecast to be operational by 2017. GAC will also build a refinery that is forecast to produce two million metric tons of alumina a year, with first production due in 2022.
The investment is part of the UAE's expansion plans for Emirates Global Aluminium, a company that is set to become the world's fifth-largest aluminum producer by next year. Bauxite is a raw ingredient use to make alumina, which is then used to make aluminum, a lightweight metal used in the manufacturing of planes and cars.
Other aluminum producers such as United Co. Rusal PLC (0486.HK) have also flocked to Guinea in order to tap the resources of the bauxite-rich nation.
Emirates Global Aluminium was created from the tie-up of Dubai Aluminium, or Dubal, and Emirates Aluminium. It has two aluminum smelters in the UAE, one in Dubai and another at Taweelah near Abu Dhabi. It also has interests in Guinea and Cameroon.
"The agreement to develop this world-class project in bauxite and alumina in Guinea marks an important step for GAC's shareholders in delivering on their strategy to secure upstream resources within the aluminum value chain," said Abdulla Kalban, chairman of GAC and Dubal's chief executive.
In May, Abu Dhabi's sovereign investment company Mubadala, a major shareholder in Emirates Global Aluminium, and Dubal unveiled plans to buy out BHP Billiton Ltd.'s (BHP, BHP.AU) 66.6% stake in the GAC project. Mubadala and Dubal were previously minority investors in the project with 8% and 25% stakes, respectively.
Guinea Minister of Mines Mohamed Lamine Fofana said Monday the agreement will result in a significant boost to the country's gross domestic product and result in the creation of 14,000 direct and indirect jobs at the peak of construction.
