OREANDA-NEWS  On 27 November was announced, that a group of seven investors from France, the USA, Japan and Germany visited the Friguia Alumina Refinery, which is owned by UC RUSAL, in the town of Fria (Guinea) as part of a mining conference.

Following a brief meeting to wish the delegation an enjoyable stay and provide a Health and Safety induction, the group had a tour around the bauxite open-cast mine. A representative from the environmental service at Friguia informed the group that although the re-vegetation of the mine areas had been started in 1973; it was not until UC RUSAL took over the facility that land restoration activities were begun in a large-scale way. Friguia currently re-vegetates 30 hectares of land annually.

After a demonstration at the open pits, the delegation visited production facilities and a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) station with a capacity of 4 MW. This supplies electric power to the refinery as well as the housing in Fria. During the visit, the investors were also told about UC RUSAL’s plans to expand the refinery. After the tour, the visitors were received by the Mayor of Fria who explained how local authorities and UC RUSAL cooperate; the contribution the Friguia refinery had made to the development of the social infrastructure and how it had helped improve living conditions in the local communities.

About Friguia

The Friguia Alumina Refinery was commissioned in 1960 with an annual design capacity of 640,000 tonnes of alumina and 1.9 million tonnes of bauxite. Currently employing 1,099 people, the refinery is one of the largest employers in Guinea. Active bauxite reserves amount to 35 million tonnes; proved reserves total 361 million tonnes.