The International Bauxite, Alumina and Aluminium Society (IBAAS), in association with geological services provider Camen Resources, will host the sixth edition of the International Bauxite-Alumina Symposium on September 21 and 22 in Conakry, Guinea. The conference will be held in Africa for the first time.

IBAAS conference convener Dr Ashok Nandi tells Mining Weekly that between 150 and 200 delegates worldwide are expected to attend and that registration for the conference, as well as the submission of presentations and abstracts in English and/or French, has opened. For young specialists and students, there will be a special poster session, where their posters will be displayed.

He comments that Guinea hosts some of the largest bauxite deposits worldwide and is one of the fastest-developing bauxite mining and export centres worldwide. Nandi highlights that this was one of the main reasons it was selected to host the conference this year. The symposium was held thrice in India and twice in China.

Holding the conference in Guinea is also in line with the IBAAS’s mandate to assist with the sustainable development of bauxite mining and the establishment of an alumina industry in Guinea, Nandi notes.

The greater part of the symposium will include presentations, all pertaining to Guinea, on the geological and geomorphological features of its bauxite resources, an overview of the current status of bauxite exploration and mining activities, and the sustainable development of bauxite exploitation and the technoeconomics of establishing an alumina refinery.

Other topics that will be addressed will be the need to set up a bauxite and alumina research institute in Guinea, and the marketing aspects of the country’s bauxite resources.

Nandi remarks that the symposium is aimed at all people, companies and institutions interested in bauxite exploration, mining, export and setting up an alumina refinery in Guinea.

Confirmed speakers to date include mining development company Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC) marketing bauxite sample mining superintendent Moussa Mara, GAC chief geologist Boubacar Labbo Sow, exploration and development company Anglo-African Minerals CEO James Lumley, independent advisory arm of engineering company WorleyParsons’ Advisian global bauxite and alumina leader Jock Armstrong, Advisian principal process engineer Peter Campbell, bauxite and alumina consultancy Amber Development adviser Bernard Bosca and alumina refinery operator Utkal Alumina International learning and development head Bhaurao Sonawane.

Nandi notes that other companies that will participate in the conference include mineral exploration and development company Alufer Mining, exploration and development company Dynamic Mining, government of Guinea and Halco Mining consortium Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée, exploration and prospecting company Geoprospects, GAC holding company Emirates Global Aluminium, exhibition company Symposium Mines Guinea, Guinea State-owned mining firm Soguipami and engineering and investment company Rent-A-port, as well as exploration and investment company Eurasian Minerals.

“The conference will provide an excellent opportunity to explore the possibility of mining in Guinea and the procurement of bauxite for an alumina refinery. It will also provide a platform to meet and interact with representatives of the government of Guinea, State-owned companies, bauxite mining and exploration companies, and alumina refinery experts from across the world,” he concludes.