Guinea Alumina Corporation Bauxite Mine

Client: Guinea Alumina Corporation S.A. (GAC)

Location: Boké region of Guinea

Map showing the location of Guinea Alumina Corporation Bauxite Mine

Executive Summary

Guinea Alumina Corporation S.A. (GAC) awarded Fluor an engineering and project management consultancy (PMC) contract for a major bauxite mine in the Boké region of Guinea. The project scope included the development of a 12-million-tonnes-per-annum greenfield bauxite mine and bauxite export facility at the Port of Kamsar, Guinea. The mine would supply high-quality bauxite for alumina production facilities.

Our scope of services was commenced in 2015 with the development of the project feasibility study. The project was approved by GAC in 2016 when Fluor was awarded the PMC services contract for the execution phase. The mine delivered first ore in 2019.

Client's Challenge

Project execution in Guinea is a logistical challenge with almost all construction material being imported, as well as a need for skilled labor. The Boké region would face pressure on its infrastructure due to manpower levels on this project as well as another similar effort in the vicinity.

Fluor's Solution

Working alongside GAC, Fluor managed part of the development of the bauxite mine, a dedicated export terminal in Port Kamsar and rail and other infrastructure upgrades. We leveraged our global expertise in marine structures, port terminals and mineral processing along with our experience in Guinea.

We provided PMC services for three major engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) packages: marine; earthworks, rail & bridges; and material handling and infrastructure.

We also managed the site infrastructure scope, site and offsite bridges, water treatment facilities, power plants (package units), port terminal, rail unloading facility, overland conveyors and material stacking and reclaim facilities. We used a dispersed execution approach for basic designs and detail design of earthworks with support from our Delhi, Perth, Houston and Farnborough offices.

In early 2019, the project achieved a major construction milestone when the project team safely set the car dumper facility's 450-ton rotating assembly into its final location. The car dumper facility is critical to the mine's logistics and operations. It took three days, multiple self-propelled modular transporters and two 750-ton cranes to complete the milestone. A 200-person team, representing 14 different countries and contractors, completed the lift.

Conclusion

Fluor provided engineering and project management consultancy for GAC's new major bauxite mine in Guinea. Working alongside other EPC contractors and the owner's team, we managed the unique logistical and community challenges associated with the project.

The project delivered first ore in June 2019. The ship then departed the GAC Port Terminal for transshipment and final delivery. The team had successfully executed more than 9.7 million hours without a lost-time incident.