Guinea is facing an escalating series of international legal challenges after revoking more than 300 mining permits since May 2025, in what authorities describe as a sweeping clean-up of the sector.
The move has affected major operators, including Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC) and Axis Minerals, triggering fears of job losses and damaging the country’s investment climate.
Axis Minerals, which has operated in Guinea since 2013, saw its license revoked by government decree on 14 May—without prior notification or consultation, according to the news outlet afrique-sur7.fr.
The company had produced more than 17 million tonnes of bauxite in the first five months of 2025, close to its total output of 18.3 million tonnes in 2024.
Sources cited by the media claim Axis Minerals was “treated unfairly by a state that is clearly opposed to it, regardless of its legal status or its contribution to the socio-economic development of the country.”
The withdrawal could result in more than 5,000 job losses.
The company has reportedly hired the international law firm Jones Day and launched proceedings under investment treaties between the United Arab Emirates and Guinea, seeking compensation estimated at several billion dollars.
In June, Jones Day confirmed it was advising a mining company in a dispute with an African state over the “illegal withdrawal of mining permits and the expropriation of assets,” without naming Axis Minerals or Guinea.
On 16 May, Falcon Energy Materials announced that its exploration and exploitation permits had also been cancelled, calling the decision “illegal and completely contrary to the letter and spirit of Guinean mining legislation.” The company vowed to “pursue all available legal remedies, in Guinea and internationally.”
GAC, a subsidiary of the UAE-based Emirates Global Aluminium, has also initiated arbitration after losing its concession and permits.
Industry analysts warn the mass withdrawals risk deterring investors, pushing them toward regional competitors such as Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire—countries seen as reforming their mining sectors through dialogue with industry stakeholders.
The Fraser Institute’s 2024 rankings already placed Guinea among the world’s ten least attractive mining jurisdictions, at 74th place—a drop of 18 positions from the previous year—despite holding some of Africa’s richest mineral reserves.
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