SYLLA & PARTNERS advised the Government of the Republic of Guinea in negotiating a mining convention with Chinese company Tebian Electric Apparatus Stock Co., Ltd (TBEA) on the implementation of the fully integrated Santou aluminium project.
The TBEA project in Santou represents one of the most ambitious and comprehensive industrial projects ever envisioned in Guinea, covering the entire aluminium value chain from bauxite extraction to metallic aluminium production, as well as the development of major energy infrastructure to power these industrial operations.
The project comprises several major integrated components: mining operations with a capacity of 1 million tonnes of bauxite per year, construction of an alumina refinery enabling transformation of extracted bauxite into alumina, construction of an aluminium smelter enabling transformation of alumina into metallic aluminium, a 75-megawatt thermal power plant to provide necessary energy for industrial operations, a 300-megawatt hydroelectric dam constituting a major renewable energy source for the project and potentially for the national power grid, as well as port and railway facilities for transportation and export of production.
TBEA, as a major Chinese company specializing in electrical equipment and energy infrastructure projects, brought particular expertise in developing the project’s energy components, particularly the 300 MW hydroelectric dam which constitutes infrastructure of national interest exceeding the sole needs of the mining and industrial project.
This type of fully integrated project, including mining, industrial and energy aspects, represents a particularly attractive development model for mineral resource-producing countries, creating maximum added value locally while contributing to the development of national energy infrastructure.
Our firm provided comprehensive legal assistance to the Government of Guinea throughout this complex negotiation process, mobilizing our expertise in mining law, infrastructure and tax law.
The services performed by SYLLA & PARTNERS included legal structuring of this multidimensional project integrating mining, industrial and energy components, negotiation and drafting of the mining convention covering all these aspects, advice on legal and tax regimes applicable to the different project components, as well as active participation in negotiation sessions with TBEA representatives.
This type of assignment illustrates our ability to support the Government of Guinea in negotiating very large-scale and highly technically complex industrial projects, ensuring the protection of the State’s interests while creating an attractive framework for transformational investments.
The SYLLA & PARTNERS team was led by Pierre Kodjo AVODE, partner, assisted by Mohamed Sidiki SYLLA and Madigbè KABA.
To discover other major integrated projects that our firm has completed in Guinea, visit our references page. For any questions regarding our services in negotiating integrated industrial projects, please do not hesitate to contact us.