Environment - an absolute priority for Guinea Alumina Corporation

The company, Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC), is aligned with very high standards in terms of environmental impact. The goal of "zero damage" summarizes its vision, which also includes the principle of zero damage to the environment. This has allowed GAC to achieve exemplary environmental protection and preservation results through the implementation of rigorous standards, procedures, and a rigorous management system.
GAC first conducted a Social and Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) after which commitments were made to protect the environment and to ensure its continued responsibility for development and social investment.
GAC has also prepared a Land Acquisition, Compensation, and Resettlement Framework (LACRF) that sets out the principles, procedures, rights, eligibility, and accommodation criteria that govern the GAC Plan for compensation for the impact on land and the livelihoods of communities.
In order to minimize the impact of its activity on the environment and surrounding communities, GAC promotes the efficient use of resources, the reduction and prevention of pollution, and the enhancement of biodiversity protection throughout the life-cycle of the project.
Having adopted the Performance Standards of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a subsidiary of the World Bank Group, in 2012 and the Equator III Principles in 2013, GAC's environmental management strategy includes the following plans:
• Erosion and Sedimentation Control Management Plan;
• Water Management Plan;
• Rehabilitation and Reforestation Management Plan;
• Waste Management Plan;
• Management Plan for Dredging and Waste Disposal;
• Air Quality Management Plan; and
• Sound and Vibration Management Plan.
The GAC concession includes critical habitat areas for the West African chimpanzees (Pan Troglodyte verus), the West African bay colobus, or endangered red colobus (Procolobus badius), as well as some species of reptiles and fish that are critically endangered. The Biodiversity Management Plan ensures GAC's role in the protection of wildlife in general and specifically, the critical habitat of endangered species, including marine species in Kamsar and the surrounding region.
GAC is also working with the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF) and The Biodiversity Consultancy (TBC) to develop environmental training programs on Wildlife and Species Protection Management threatened with extinction. This includes impact minimization measures in response to hunting, slash-and-burn practices, uncontrolled bush fires, and wood harvesting for human activities.
Some recent initiatives include the feasibility study of a compensation program to allow for a local increase in the population of West African chimpanzees.
As a reminder, GAC has just been reinvested with the Guinean government's confidence in the best practices in respect to environmental standards in the context of the implementation of its bauxite export project in the Boké region. This resulted in the presentation to GAC on March 3rd of the "Certificate of Environmental Compliance" by the Guinean Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests, through the Guinean Office of Environmental Studies and Assessment. (BGEEE). This certificate is awarded to the mining promoters in Guinea by the State to attest to their ability and competence to meet the requirements of protection and preservation of the environment according to the standards in force. GAC, as far as the environment is concerned, adheres to the highest standards in the world.
GAC has consistently demonstrated its responsibility and commitment to the environment.