The government of Guinea, the world's third largest producer of bauxite, signed on Monday a $3 billion (2.6 billion euro) deal to tap reserves of the mineral in two new regions as well as build a railway and plant to process it into alumina.
The consortium includes the Guinean bauxite mining company SMB and transport firm UMS, the Singaporean firm Winning Shipping and Chinese aluminium manufacturer Shandong Weiqiao.
The consortium plans to build a 135-kilometre (85-mile) railway to transport bauxite from currently undeveloped reserves in the northern Santou and Houda areas, to the coast near Boke, at an estimated cost of $1.2 billion.
A plant to process the bauxite into alumina, which is a key component of aluminium, is expected to cost between $700-900 million.
While Guinea has abundant mineral resources which have driven economic growth in recent years, mining has not led to widespread employment and wealth.
The government recently indicated it is interested in developing other sectors, and the consortium also plans to use the railroad to encourage industrial agriculture in the regions through which it passes.
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