Guinea Takes Control of "Its" Minerals

"It is not hot news that most African countries possess resources-natural, human, and otherwise that if properly exploited would place African countries as one of the most richest in the world. But most of the continents resources are being exploited and taken to the western world at cheap rates, where they are processed and who becomes the sole consumer of the more expensive end products? The same people who produced the raw material in the first place. What is wrong with investing in Africa? This trend seems to have no end at hand.
Natives of this rural community in Guinea have every cause to become agog, their hearts filled with great anticipation for the future.
But the questions that pops up in mind is "How far will this go? When the need for increased production arises and computers begin to take over peoples jobs...will there still be anything left for these poor people who are devotedly making big sacrifices for their future and the future of their nation?"
We hope that this does not become another case of the Niger Delta in Nigeria; we hope that the plan in place is both efficient and effective, to ensure that these people are not only given fish but also taught how to fish-that they become trully empowered. We hope that this step taken by Global Alumina, will be followed by many more other foreign investors to help develop Africa.
Let us hope and pray that the future for the Sangaredi community, for Guinea, for Africa and indeed the third world will be as bright and beautiful as the smiles on the faces of these people."


Ansata Bah jiggles the baby wrapped to her back. At 13 years old, she has the weight of her world on her shoulders.

In March, she, along with her child, husband and fellow villagers, have to move out of their settlement in rural Guinea, West Africa.

They are making way for a new $3bn (£1.5bn) factory that in 2009 will start to turn Guinea's vast supplies of bauxite into alumina, the aluminium ore from which aluminium is made.

But what could have been a nightmarish corporate attack on village life may prove a blessing.

The project, based in Sangaredi, is giving hope to poor communities desperate for jobs that have for decades seen their region's mineral wealth exploited abroad.

"If I can get some activity, it doesn't matter what - washing clothes, preparing food - I won't hesitate to do it," says Ms Bah.

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