Analytics company GlobalData says bauxite is poised to continue on a growth trajectory globally, with production expected to increase by 3.8% year-on-year this year to reach 372-million tonnes.

This follows a 1.2% rise in bauxite output recorded in 2020 to 359-million tonnes.

GlobalData reports that higher output from mines in Australia and Guinea, as well as normalising levels of production elsewhere to pre-Covid-19 levels, are contributing to tonnages.

From this year to 2025, global bauxite production is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 2.2%, to reach 406-million tonnes by 2025.

Australia and Guinea will likely maintain steady supply growth rates of 1.6% and 6.5%, respectively, over the period, supported by a series of upcoming projects. The two countries account for eight of the 17 planned bauxite projects worldwide.

In Australia, bauxite production growth will be supported by the restart of Metro Mining’s Bauxite Hills mine, where operations had been halted during the wet season. The mine is expected to produce about four-million tonnes of bauxite this year.

Further, the formal commitment of the Stage 2 expansion of the mine to a capacity of six-million tonnes, which is part of the company’s long-term development plan, will be dependent on global market conditions.

In Guinea, GlobalData project manager Vinneth Bajaj explains, the Boffa mine, which began operations in January 2020, is expected to reach its full capacity during the second half of this year.

The mine is expected to produce up to nine-million tonnes of bauxite this year, compared with seven-million tonnes in 2020.

Earlier this year, operations also began at the Garafiri project, which has over 300-million tonnes of bauxite reserves. The project has an initial production capacity of three-million tonnes, which will be expanded up to eight-million tonnes.”

In July, China Railway Construction Corporation announced completion of the construction of a railway line from Boffa to Boke, which will now increase the single trip freight volume to 10 000 t, up from 5 000 t previously, as part of the first phase of the Boke development project.

Phases 2 and 3 of the project include exploitation of bauxite resources in the new mining areas of Santou II and Houda and development of an alumina refinery in the Boke Special Economic Zone.

Overall, this will play a crucial role in establishing Guinea as an export nation, states GlobalData.