Guinea: Certification of bauxite mine despite human rights violations and environmental destruction
Berlin, 12.03.2024: The non-governmental organizations FIAN and PowerShift criticize the preliminary certification of the bauxite mine Compagnie des Bauxites des Guinée (CBG) by the Aluminium stewardship initiative (ASI). Certification based on ASI's social and environmental standards is in stark contrast to human rights violations and environmental degradation by the mine, which both organizations have documented. The partner organisations ADREMGUI and CECIDE in Guinea and IDI from the USA also make public reference to this.
The mine near the town of Sangaredi in the Boké region of northwest Guinea is one of the largest bauxite mines in the world with an area of almost 3,000 km2. The villages in their concession have been complaining about the destruction of their livelihoods since 2016. “The CBG’s reckless approach is destroying the population’s agricultural land and water resources. The fact that CBG has nevertheless been certified by ASI is completely incomprehensible and looks like pure greenwashing", criticises Gertrud Falk from FIAN, who has documented the situation in the affected local communities.
In 2016, the German government insured a loan of EUR 248 million from ING DiBa to CBG. This was intended to increase the production of the mine. This was linked to the requirement that 15 percent of the extracted bauxite be exported to Germany. In Germany, this is used by automotive groups as well as the packaging, construction and energy sectors. ‘The certification by ASI must not have the effect of discharging the duty of care on the part of the Federal Government and German companies. They share responsibility for supporting CBG's hair-raising corporate practices," warns PowerShift's Hendrik Schnittker.
ASI is a private certification company for the aluminium sector headquartered in Australia. Its certification standards include human rights and environmental protection. Management plans must be made available. ASI certified CBG from December 2023 to December 2024. On the ASI website, the CEO of CBG, Souleymane Traoré, claims that CBG attaches great importance to the concerns of communities and environmental protection. This statement contrasts with FIAN's and PowerShift's on-site research and the ongoing complaints from communities in the CBG Mine concession.
The NGOs Inclusive Development International, CECIDE and ADREMGUI have explained in detail that CBG does not meet the ASI standards.
Background:
- https://www.inclusivedevelopment.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Response-to-ASI-CBG-Audit_Final_EN.docx.pdf
- https://aluminium-stewardship.org/compagnie-des-bauxites-de-guinee-joins-asi-as-new-production-and-transformation-member
- https://www.fian.de/was-wir-machen/fallarbeit/sangaredi-guinea/
Contact:
- Hendrik Schnittker, PowerShift, Tel. 01623899451, E-mail hendrik.schnittker@power-shift.de
- Gertrud Falk, FIAN Germany, Tel. 0151 56996278, E-mail g.falk@fian.de
