PREVIEW
Bauxite sales up but tariffs on Chinese metal shipments create uncertainty
Although increasing global protectionism is adding to market uncertainty, the regime is for now set to continue reaping the benefits of growing Chinese demand for steel and aluminium. Exports of bauxite ore, from which aluminium is extracted, were up 23% in the third quarter of 2025, primarily due to China.
China sources around half its bauxite from Guinea, chiefly through the Société Minière de Boké (SMB). Chinese companies based in Guinea accounted for 55% of exports in the third quarter, with SMB shipping 17.5 million tonnes of bauxite.
SMB holds the concession to the giant Simandou iron ore deposit in the south-eastern Guinée Forestière region (AC Vol 63 No 1, No timeline for return to civil rule and Vol 62 No 20, Mines ministry contenders). Ministers in Conakry say that they will inaugurate rail and port facilities for the Simandou project on 11 November – the 650-kilometre 'Transguinean' railway that crosses the country – as part of efforts to speed up production. Simandou is yet to produce significant amounts of ore.
China’s steel and aluminium exports are threatened by 50% tariffs imposed by the European Union and the United States, which have cited Chinese production as existential threats to their industries.
Consultants Wood Mackenzie estimate China’s share of global steel demand will fall from 49% to 31% up to 2050, which would amount to a five to seven million tonnes annual reduction over the next decade.
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