Latest news with #SaliouSamb
Hindustan Times
07-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Guinea moves to cancel EGA's mining licence, sources say
By Saliou Samb Guinea moves to cancel EGA's mining licence, sources say CONAKRY, - Guinea has initiated a process to withdraw Emirates Global Aluminium's mining licence in the West African nation, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. Emirates Global Aluminium equally owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and Dubai sovereign wealth fund the Investment Corporation of Dubai, operates one of the largest bauxite mines in Guinea through its Guinea Alumina Corporation subsidiary. The company has been in a dispute with the government of Guinea since October last year when its bauxite exports and mining operations were suspended by the authorities, which cited concerns over customs duties. "We have initiated the withdrawal of GAC's mining licence. A notification has been sent to this effect," one of the sources, a senior government official who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak, told Reuters. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Guinea's move to cancel EGA's licence is indicative of a wider trend of resource-rich countries in the region seeking to exert greater control over their mineral wealth, a development that could reshape the global mining sector. The military-led governments in Guinea, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in particular, have pushed to rewrite mining laws and contracts, detain mining executives, suspend operations, and seize products as they demand greater control and revenues. The Emirati company began operating in Guinea in 2019 and exported around 14 million metric tons of bauxite in 2022. It said in March that the suspension of its activities in Guinea resulted in a decline of exports from 14.1 million wet metric tonnes of bauxite in 2023 to 10.8 million wet metric tonnes in 2024. Guinea is the world's second-largest producer after Australia of bauxite, the raw material for aluminium. EGA's operation in Guinea includes a 690-square kilometre mining concession which contains around 400 million tonnes of bauxite mineral resources. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Junta-ruled Guinea sets referendum for September in potential step to democracy
By Saliou Samb CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinea's military leader has set September 21, 2025, as the date for a constitutional referendum, according to a decree read out on state television on Tuesday evening, in a potential first step towards returning to constitutional democracy. Mamady Doumbouya seized power in a coup in September 2021, and in 2022 proposed a two-year transition to elections but then did not take steps to organise a vote. Guinea, a bauxite and iron ore-producer, is one of several West African countries where the military has taken power and stalled a return to civilian rule. It missed a December 31, 2024 deadline that military authorities had set for a return to a civilian administration. In July 2024 the junta presented a draft of a new constitution which may allow Doumbouya to participate in the next presidential election. Authorities have said a referendum on the draft constitution would be a precursor to any election and a return to constitutional rule. Guinea's two former ruling parties are currently suspended. The other major opposition party, the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG), has been placed under surveillance.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Guinea junta chief pardons former military leader over stadium massacre
By Saliou Samb CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinea's junta leader has pardoned former military leader Moussa Dadis Camara for "health reasons" after a court last year found him guilty of crimes against humanity in a 2009 stadium massacre, according to a decree read on state television late on Friday. Camara, who seized power in a 2008 coup, was on July 31, 2024, sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the massacre of at least 157 people during a pro-democracy rally in a stadium in the capital Conakry. On September 28, 2009, tens of thousands of people had gathered to press Camara not to stand in a presidential election the following year. Many were shot, stabbed, beaten or crushed in a stampede as security forces fired teargas and charged the stadium. At least a dozen women were raped by security forces, prosecutors said during the trial. Camara, 61, was convicted alongside seven other military commanders. The West African nation's current military government announced on Thursday that it would pay the compensation to victims that the court had ordered Camara and the other accused to cover. That includes at least $2 million to rape victims and $18 million to the families of those killed or missing, according to Reuters calculations. Junta leader Mamady Doumbouya himself seized power in a 2021 coup.
