By Robbie Corey-Boulet
Dakar — Axis International is seeking $28.9bn from Guinea at a World Bank tribunal after the West African country revoked its permit to operate a bauxite mine there earlier in 2025, the United Arab Emirates-based company said on Monday.
Guinea, which has the world’s largest reserves of bauxite, has moved over the past year to tighten state control over the mining sector, revoking and reallocating some permits as it seeks higher revenues and more local processing.
Such moves by the government headed by coup leader Mamady Doumbouya have led to a number of arbitration challenges, including one filed in November by Nomad Bauxite Corporation and another this month by Nimba Investment. Doumbouya is expected to win Guinea’s presidential election, which was held on Sunday.
“If it fails to pay compensation or refuses to participate, Guinea risks losing multilateral donor support and access to financial markets,” Axis International said in a statement on Monday.
The arbitration challenge was filed at the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
Guinea’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Axis International owns 85% of Axis Minerals Resources SA, a Guinean company with rights to a bauxite mine in the Boffa region. The company’s statement said that the permit was terminated in May along with dozens of others.
Axis International said that while the government claimed the mine was not operational or underutilised, it was operating at scale and supporting thousands of workers and their families.
“Over more than a decade, the project developed into a fully operational mine contributing materially to Guinea’s economy,” Axis International founder Pankaj Oswal said in the statement.
Guinea is liable for at least $28.9bn in damages based on “proven reserves” of more than 800-million tonnes, the statement said.
The mine produced 18-million tonnes of bauxite in 2024, making it Guinea’s second-largest source of bauxite ore exports, the company said.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.