The authorities of Guinea have laid the groundwork for the development of the extractive resources of this West African country, which is rich in mineral resources.At a cabinet meeting on November 11, the transitional government of Guinea ratified the project to build a gold refinery. More than two months after its presentation by the Minister of Mines and Geology, Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, President of the Transition, issued a decree on Monday, January 23, 2023, to launch a call for tenders with to materialize this ambitious project, the relevance of which is being debated.

Guinean researcher on the extractive industries in Africa, Oumar Barry notes that “it is a project that has a strategic dimension above all.” It is part of the desire to position itself in the mineral processing segment, which generates greater value,” says the doctoral student in political science at the University of Lyon 2, in France.

The Guinean authorities hope to complete the construction of this refinery by October of this year. According to Mr. Barry, “it is feasible if the resources are mobilized” for this purpose. Especially since for him, the most important is already acquired, namely “gold, the raw material.”

“The financial resources can be mobilized through different levers of internal and external funding,” the specialist opined, referring to the “Mining Fund” and “loans from international funding agencies.”

Oumar Barry believes that the benefits of this gold refinery can be “strategic” and “economic” for Guinea. 

“A good part of the artisanal exploitation can thus find a way to be valorised locally. In addition to this, there is the opportunity that this could provide for young graduates in a situation of unemployment,” says the author of the book “Guinea and the CBG, The Challenges of a Geopolitical Dilemma” published by Harmattan.