Société minière de Boké or SMB[1] is one of the main business enterprises in Guinea.
| Founded | 2014 |
|---|---|
Key people | Frédéric Bouzigues (General Manager) |
| Products | Bauxite |
Number of employees | 9000 |
| Website | www |
It deals mainly in Bauxite mining in the region of Boké, alongside CBG[2] exporting from the ports of Dapilon and Katougouma on the Rio Nunez.[3]
Production
editSMB produced more than 36 million tons of Bauxite in 2018,[4] and production has since risen to 48 million tons in 2023.[5] According to reports, SMB is Guinea's biggest bauxite producer, and together with the partially state-owned Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée, the two companies are responsible for moving Guinea into a 22 percent share of the global bauxite market.[6]
SMB Winning Consortium
editThe company, partnered with other companies along the Aluminum-production value chain to construct industrial infrastructure in Guinea. The company joined with Winning Alliance Africa Port Ltd. (the local subsidiary of the Singaporean Winning International Group, the largest shipping company in Asia), United Mining Supply Group (a french-funded transport and logistics company), Shandong Weiqiao (A subsidiary of China Hongqiao Group, the second largest aluminum producer in China, and the Guinean state (A 10% shareholder in the company[7]), to construct 135 kilometers of railway in a corridor stretching from Boffa Prefecture to Boké Prefecture to connect the new Houda and Santou II mines with the newly constructed Dapilon port on the Rio Nunez. They have also constructed a new alumina refinery in the Boké Special Economic Zone.
Facilities
editControversy
editThe company has been cited for numerous human rights and environmental violations. Their operations are implicated in pollution of the air, water and land in areas surrounding its facilities. Water sources near their facilities have been polluted, resulting in numerous municipalities relying on SMB's tanker trucks for all their water. The company has also been criticized for impropriety when acquiring land. [8][9]
References
edit- ^ "Société Minière de Boké".
- ^ "Reportage Afrique - Guinée: explosion de la production de bauxite, atout ou fardeau? (1/5)". RFI (in French). 2018-03-12. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
- ^ SMB-WINNING. "Les présidents de la Guinée et du Liberia visitent le terminal de Dapilon du Consortium SMB-Winning, au port de Boké". Agence Ecofin (in French). Retrieved 2019-09-08.
- ^ "Guinée : SMB annonce la construction d'une voie ferrée et d'une raffinerie pour trois milliards de dollars". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). 2018-11-26. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
- ^ "Guinea's SMB to invest up to $1 billion to boost bauxite exports". Mining.com. Reuters. 5 February 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
- ^ Chason, Rachel; Sharrock, Chloe (27 April 2023). "On frontier of new 'gold rush,' quest for coveted EV metals yields misery". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
- ^ "Guinée : investissements lourds dans la bauxite". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). 2018-03-14. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
- ^ "What Do We Get Out of It?": The Human Rights Impact of Bauxite Mining in Guinea". hrw.org. 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
- ^ "Export of Bauxite from Katougouma and Dapilon harbours by Société Minière de Boké, Guinea | EJAtlas". Environmental Justice Atlas.
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