EGA’s GAC certified by Aluminium Stewardship Initiative for sustainability performance, in global milestone for Guinea and aluminium industry

Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, today announced that its mining subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation has achieved the first certification in the Republic of Guinea to the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative’s Performance Standard.

Aluminium Stewardship Initiative certification is the global aluminium industry’s internationally-recognised standard for environmental and social performance and governance.

Guinea is the world’s largest resource holder of bauxite, the ore from which aluminium is derived, and the second largest global producer.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said today: “EGA aims to be a global sustainability leader for the aluminium industry, helping ensure that aluminium reaches its full potential to contribute to human progress. Guinea is a developing country, which makes sustainability an essential priority in our local business. ASI Performance Standard certification provides an independent and public verification of both what we do well and where we can continuously improve, such as in our relationships with local communities. I am proud that an EGA company has achieved the first Aluminium Stewardship Initiative certification in Guinea, and hope that other bauxite mining companies in the country will follow our lead.”

The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative is a global, non-profit organisation that brings together aluminium producers, end-users such as BMW Group and Nespresso, civil society, and the public through consultation, to determine what constitutes good sustainability performance in the aluminium sector.

Fiona Solomon, Chief Executive Officer of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, said: The vision of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative is to maximise the contribution of aluminium to a sustainable society, by fostering responsible production, sourcing and stewardship. Guinea plays an important role in the global aluminium value chain, and is a country where the industry’s commitment to sustainability is tested. The GAC audit piloted the involvement of Guinean specialists in the audit team, after being trained in the ASI audit process as part of our Registered Specialists Program. This empowered local expertise as they took the lead on social engagement during the audit process, including a wide range of community, employer and contractor interviews. We congratulate Emirates Global Aluminium and its subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation for achieving this first ASI Performance Standard Certification in Guinea, and for their commitment to pursue responsible bauxite mining practices in this challenging setting.”

The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative’s Performance Standard has more than 100 environmental, social and governance requirements. Certification to Version 2 (2017) of the standard was granted following a rigorous independent audit of GAC’s polices, practice and performance. The audit considered a broad range of factors both directly and indirectly related to the company’s operations, including their impact on biodiversity, human rights, transparency, community engagement, emissions and waste management.

EGA was the first Middle East-headquartered company to join the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, back in 2017. EGA’s Al Taweelah site was certified to the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative’s Performance Standard in 2019, with EGA’s site in Jebel Ali achieving certification in 2021. EGA’s Al Taweelah site was re-certified in 2022.

GAC began production in 2019, following a $1.4 billion investment by EGA, the largest in a greenfield mining project in Guinea in more than four decades. In 2022, EGA exported 14 million wet tonnes of bauxite from GAC, making EGA one of the largest merchant suppliers of the mineral in the world. Some GAC bauxite is shipped to the UAE for use in EGA’s Al Taweelah alumina refinery.

GAC operates a 690-square kilometre mining concession, located in the northwest of Guinea. Once mined, bauxite is transported to GAC’s port at Kamsar by train using shared rail infrastructure. GAC’s port has some of the largest mining equipment ever installed in Africa. The stacker/reclaimer at Kamsar is 125 metres long – longer than a soccer field – 25 metres tall, and weighs 1,300 tonnes.