Latest news with #KeboEnergy
Zawya
16-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Guinea repossess 51 mining licences, information minister says
Guinea's military government has taken back 51 mining licences as it steps up efforts to repossess claims or concessions where operations have either not been launched or where it says permits are being underutilised, its information minister said. Reuters first reported that the government planned to cancel the licences on Thursday. Fana Soumah announced in a televised address late Thursday night that Guinea's military ruler Mamady Doumbouya had signed the repossession decree, which covers bauxite, gold, diamond, graphite and iron concessions. The concessions had been "returned free of charge to the state," Soumah said, citing multiple articles in Guinea's mining code as legal justification for the licence withdrawals. Guinea is home to the world's largest reserves of bauxite, the main ore used to produce aluminium, and its exports are crucial to global production of the industrial metal, particularly in China and Russia. It had previously moved to withdraw bauxite licences belonging to Kebo Energy SA and Emirates Global Aluminium. "Government pressure on Guinea's bauxite industry is building," said Tom Price, investment bank Panmure Liberum's head of commodities. "We suspect Guinea's government is consolidating the number of foreign bauxite miners, and forcing the reformed industry to invest in local downstream processing capacity," he added. However, another analyst familiar with Guinea's mining sector operations, who asked not to be named, said the companies affected by the decree were inconsequential players. Guinean authorities did not respond to requests for comment on their planned next steps. The decree affects mining operations with licenses granted between 2005 and 2023. Some of the permits had already expired while others would have still remained valid for decades. The move reflects an increasingly complex operating climate in West Africa, where military regimes in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have tightened control over mineral assets since 2020 in a bid to boost revenues. (Reporting by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Editing by Joe Bavier)
Reuters
16-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Guinea repossess 51 mining licences, information minister says
DAKAR, May 16 (Reuters) - Guinea's military government has taken back 51 mining licences as it steps up efforts to repossess claims or concessions where operations have either not been launched or where it says permits are being underutilised, its information minister said. Reuters first reported that the government planned to cancel the licences on Thursday. Fana Soumah announced in a televised address late Thursday night that Guinea's military ruler Mamady Doumbouya had signed the repossession decree, which covers bauxite, gold, diamond, graphite and iron concessions. The concessions had been "returned free of charge to the state," Soumah said, citing multiple articles in Guinea's mining code as legal justification for the licence withdrawals. Guinea is home to the world's largest reserves of bauxite, the main ore used to produce aluminium, and its exports are crucial to global production of the industrial metal, particularly in China and Russia. It had previously moved to withdraw bauxite licences belonging to Kebo Energy SA and Emirates Global Aluminium. "Government pressure on Guinea's bauxite industry is building," said Tom Price, investment bank Panmure Liberum's head of commodities. "We suspect Guinea's government is consolidating the number of foreign bauxite miners, and forcing the reformed industry to invest in local downstream processing capacity," he added. However, another analyst familiar with Guinea's mining sector operations, who asked not to be named, said the companies affected by the decree were inconsequential players. Guinean authorities did not respond to requests for comment on their planned next steps. The decree affects mining operations with licenses granted between 2005 and 2023. Some of the permits had already expired while others would have still remained valid for decades. The move reflects an increasingly complex operating climate in West Africa, where military regimes in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have tightened control over mineral assets since 2020 in a bid to boost revenues.
Reuters
12-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Guinea cancels bauxite concession awarded to Kebo Energy SA
May 12 (Reuters) - Guinea has cancelled a bauxite mining concession granted to Kebo Energy SA over its failure to deliver on promised investments, according to a statement broadcast on state television. The cancellation was announced late on Friday, with state television citing a decree issued by junta leader Mamady Doumbouya, who seized power in a coup in 2021. A senior Guinean mining official confirmed that the concession had been cancelled. A source close to Kebo Energy SA said the company had failed to raise sufficient funding for the project, which included building an alumina refinery. A spokesperson for Kebo Energy SA could not be reached for comment. Last week, Reuters reported Guinea's government had moved to revoke Emirates Global Aluminium's (EGA) mining licence over the company's failure to fulfil its commitment to construct an alumina refinery. Guinea has also cancelled a gold permit previously awarded to Guiter Mining SA, according to Friday's statement. Guiter Mining SA did not respond to a request for comment. Military-led governments in Guinea, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have pushed to rewrite mining laws and contracts after seizing power in coups in recent years. In some cases they have detained mining executives, suspended operations and seized products as they demand greater control and revenue of mineral resources.
