What Are the Natural Resources of Guinea?

Guinea is heavily weighted with natural resources. Located in West Africa, largely landlocked and surrounded by seven different countries, Guinea still has yet to fully tap the potential of its reserves. Over 25 percent of the nation's economy is supported through the mining sector. With political unrest ending in Sierra Leone and Liberia, Guinea is beginning to see a recent restructuring and modernization that will likely see an increase in production of natural resources.

Bauxite

Guinea has a great amount of bauxite. Bauxite is a type of rock containing an ore which is the chief component in the creation of aluminum. Of all mining occurring in the country, bauxite by far makes up the largest percentage totaling more than 24 billion metric tons, more than a third of the total world supply. Of the eight mines in Guinea, the largest is located in the west of country, northwest of Conarky in the town of Boke. Bauxite and aluminum are presently the country's only major exports.

Diamonds & Gold

Diamond and gold production in Guinea are significant. Diamonds are mined largely through artisinal mining, simply digging and sifting through gravel and mud of artisinal riverbanks with hand tools, produces diamonds that are 80 percent gem quality. The Aredor Diamond Mine, located in the southeast, regularly produces fine quality, large diamonds. There are six gold mines in the country as well. In the northeast, the Siguiri Gold Mine, the largest in the country can be found and is partly owned by Anglogold Ashanti of Ghana.

Uranium

Mining for uranium has yet to take place in Guinea though there are a handful of companies who have begun prospecting and have discovered there is a significant supply in the region of Firawa, 400 miles southeast of Conarky. Other areas being explored include sites in Cece and Bohodou Kerouane in the Kankan and Nzerekore regions.

Hydroelectric Power

Guinea is the source for two major rivers in Africa, one of which is the Niger River, the third largest in Africa. In addition to this, there are many regional rivers and one of the highest rainfall percentages in the country. As a result, there is enormous potential for hydroelectric power. Current estimates suggest the possible capacity could reach as high as 19,400 gigawatthours per year. Currently, only 1 percent is being used. The government has expressed interest in replacing thermal power stations which are quite expensive to run.

Other Resources

Other possible areas of natural resource development include salt mining, the fisheries (of which many European countries pay the government to use) as well as the mining of iron ore. Guinea currently possesses more than four billion tons of premium grade iron ore. The Simandou deposit, in the southeast of the country, is thought to be one of Africa's largest.