GBC Takes Stock of Chinalco Mining Operations in Africa at CAETE 2025
Chinalco at CAETE 2025
At the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo 2025 (#CAETE2025) held in Changsha from 12 to 15 June 2025, Chinalco booked a large and prominent stand due to its significant footprint in Africa. In that context, Mr Aaron Kwang POON, Chair of the Global Business Council, was given a guided tour of the Chinalco stand to learn more about of its African operations. During CAETE, Chair Poon also had the opportunity to attend the Green Mining Forum.
The China Aluminum Corporation (Chinalco) is one of China’s largest state-owned enterprises (SOE) in the mining industry. It is dual-listed on both the Hong Kong (HKSE: 2600) and Shanghai (SHSE: 601600) Stock Exchanges. It started out in the aluminum mining sector, but has since diversified into copper and Rare Earth Elements (#REE).
In 2024, its revenue exceeded USD 57 billion and was ranked as the 142nd largest company in the world in 2023 based on the Fortune Global 500 listing. Other than its domestic market in China, it has notable operations in Australia, Guinea, and Peru.
Simandou Iron Ore Complex
The Simandou iron mining complex consists of four blocks numbered 1 and 2 in the North and 3 and 4 in the South. Chinalco is the majority shareholder with a 45% stake in the SimFer Joint Venture (JV) which owns the exploitation rights on Blocks 3 & 4. Rio Tinto holds 40% and the remaining 15% is held by the Government of Guinea.
Blocks 1 & 2 in the North are owned and operated by a partnership of several companies, named Winning Consortium. The main shareholders included Singapore’s Winning Group, China’s Hongqiao, UMS Guinea and other Guinean investors.
The Simandou Iron Mining Complex Project also acts as a driver for infrastructural development. Thus, a new deep-water seaport at Morebaya is part of the plan as well as the 650-km Trans-Guinean Railway linking Morebaya to Simandou. In principle, the cost of the infrastructural development is to be shared by Simfer and the Winning Consortium.
The Simandou iron ore mining complex lies in the Nzerekore region in southeastern Guinea toward the border with Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire. Surveys show that the estimated reserves of hematite is over 2 billion tonnes at 66% grade, which is among the best globally. With Simandou operational, Guinea has the potential to rival Australia or Brazil as a top global iron ore producer.
Boffa-Boke Bauxite Mine
Through its subsidiary Chalco, Chinalco owns the mining rights to the Boffa-Boke bauxite mine and has been operating the mine since 2015. By 2017, the mine has reached an annual output of 5 million tonnes and the plan is to upgrade gradually to reach 10 million tonnes. As such, the project places Guinea a one of the most significant bauxite player in the world.
The reserves at the Boffa and Boke regions are estimated at approximately 400 million tonnes. The bauxite in Guinea has low impurities making it ideal for aluminum refining.
Most of the bauxite is transported via road or rail to the bulk terminal at the seaport of Kamsar for export. As part of the mining project, plans are underway to upgrade the port and connectivity from Kamsar to the Boffa-Boke regions.
Recently, the Government of Guinea is encouraging miners to undertake smelting and refining locally. The objective of Local Value Addition (#LVA) is to reap more benefits for the local economies. To that effect, Chinalco and Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) signed a agreement in 2024 to jointly build an alumina refinery in Guinea.
In line with global trends, the mining industry is moving towards compliance on the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) framework and is adopting green and smart mining technologies and practices. In line with the #ESG, Chinalco has started to venture into Mineral Resource Recycling and the Circular Economy in order to mitigate its environmental impact.
Luilu Copper Cathode Plant
The Luilu Copper Cathode Plant is located in the Lualaba Province in the Katanga region in southern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In response for more local beneficiation, Jinchuan Group, a subsidiary of Chinalco, decided to set up the refinery in line with the local policy shift.
Its annual production capacity exceeds 40,000 tonnes of copper cathode and 7,000 tonnes of cobalt . The plant is capable of producing copper with a purity of 99.99% via electrolytic refining. Electrolysis is an energy-intensive process and Chinalco is striving to augment the proportion of renewable energy within its sources in a strategic move toward #GreenCopper.
The copper-cobalt sulfide ore or chalcopyrite comes mostly from the Ivanhoe‘s Kamoa-Kakula mine and the China Molybdenum‘s (CMOC) Tenke-Fungurume mine. Chinalco actually holds a stake in both these mining operations.
The copper cathode is typically exported from the Lubumbashi seaport which is well-served by transport and logistics network. The Luilu copper smelting plant has been operational since 2011. DRC and Zambia are part of the world-renowned Central African #Copperbelt which holds one of the largest copper and cobalt reserves in the world.
Regional Integration
The Western Africa sub-region — including Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Cote d’Ivoire — is known to be rich in iron ore. Thus, a regional integrated approach to the development of the mining resources could prove to be highly beneficial.
Under a regional cooperation plan, Simandou could thus be linked across the border to the iron-rich Nimba County in Liberia. Eventually, the iron ore from Simandou and Nimba could then be shipped from the Buchanan seaport in Liberia, which provides a shorter pathway to the Atlantic Ocean compared to the Morebaya seaport in Guinea.
Similarly, the copper and cobalt produced at Luilu can be evacuated via the #TAZARA promoted by China. Alternatively, the USA and EU are upgrading the #LobitoCorridor with the firm intention to secure access to #CriticalMinerals.