Chalco loads its first capesize vessel with bauxite from Guinea’s Boffa mine

Chalco, a subsidiary of China’s behemoth Chinalco (which formerly partnered with Rio Tinto to develop the massive Simandou iron project in Guinea Forestière, located more than a thousand kilometres away from the coast), communicated its interest in the Boffa bauxite mine to Guinea’s government early on in the Simandou negotiation process. The mine had previously been controlled by BHP Billiton, but never operated. Chinalco and Rio Tinto have so far been unable to reach an agreement on a development plan for Simandou, but Chalco successfully began production at the Boffa mine at the start of the year.