LOCATION: Guinea
RELATIONSHIP: The mine operator Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée (CBG) is majority-owned by Halco Mining Inc. (51%), which is a consortium comprised of Rio Tinto (45%), Alcoa (45%) and Dadco Investments (10%).
IMPACT ON COMMUNITIES AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Since it began operations in 1973, Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée has been the subkect of a wide range or reports of physically and economically displaced local communities from vast areas of land, causing extreme economic hardship. Community members report that CBG has taken agricultural land without the consent of communities and mostly without providing compensation or replacement land which is also confirmed by the environmental and social monitoring reports commissioned by CBG’s lenders. CBG has neglected to rehabilitate much of the agricultural land it has strip mined. Mining and related infrastructure have polluted, destroyed and/or cut off communities’ access to rivers, streams and natural springs they traditionally relied on, limiting access to water to meet daily needs. The scarcity of water and land also prevent local people from maintaining their traditional economic activities. The limited livelihood restoration programs CBG contractors have initiated have largely failed.
In 2019, thirteen villages affected by CBG’s mining activities filed a
IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT AND BIODIVERSITY
The mine has caused irreversible destruction of large swaths of soil and pollution of water sources. Mining activity has also contributed to the loss of critical habitats, including for endangered chimpanzees. Local residents report an unprecedented decline, and in some cases the total extinction, of certain species of wildlife and medicinal plants.
RESOURCES
Rio Tinto’s response to this profile can be found here.
Information on this project was submitted by Advocates for Alternatives and last updated on February 13th, 2025.LOCATION: Guinea
RELATIONSHIP: Rio Tinto is the majority shareholder and managing partner of Rio Tinto Simfer, which holds rights to Simandou’s southern mining blocks 3 and 4, and here has a 42.5% equity share in La Compagnie du TransGuinéen (CTG), which is developing the infrastructure needed to transport mined ore out of the country, including 600km of rail infrastructure spanning the length of the country.
IMPACT ON COMMUNITIES AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Rio Tinto’s Simandou mining blocks are expected to begin production in 2025 and work on the trans-Guinean rail infrastructure to transport iron ore from the site is ongoing. Civil society organizations have reported problems arising from the initial stages of the project, including developers’ failures to effectively inform and consult with affected communities, land taking without compensation, loss of access to fishing livelihoods, and destruction of farmland due to mud, dust and flooding caused by railway construction. The project as a whole is expected to have serious negative impacts on the livelihoods of Guineans across the country, including loss of homes and farmland and pollution that will damage agricultural soils and the health of livestock.
IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT AND BIODIVERSITY
Construction of the railway to transport mined ore from the Simandou project will raze more than 100 square km of land and cut through ecologically fragile areas, destroying vital habitat for critically endangered chimpanzees. Several important streams that are among the headwaters of the Niger River–a lifeline for millions of people in five arid West African countries–are located in the mining concession, and the impact on the ecology and quality of the river are unknown. Environmental impact assessments suggest Simandou’s mining blocks 1 and 2 alone will produce over 19 million tons of carbon dioxide over their projected 22-year lifespan, with civil society groups warning that even this is likely an underestimate.
RESOURCES
Rio Tinto’s response to this profile can be found here.
Information on this project was submitted by Advocates for Alternatives and last updated on February 13th, 2025.