Axis International is suing Guinea for $28.9 billion due to a bauxite permit that was revoked
Axis International Ltd., based in the United Arab Emirates, announced Monday that it is suing Guinea at a World Bank tribunal for $28.9 billion after the West African nation cancelled its permit to run a bauxite mine there this year.
In an effort to increase revenue and encourage more local processing, Guinea, which possesses the largest bauxite reserves in the world, has tightened state oversight over the mining industry in the last year by rescinding and redistributing some permits.
Numerous arbitration challenges, including one filed in November by Nomad Bauxite Corporation and another this month by Nimba Investment LLC, have resulted from such actions by the administration led by coup leader Mamady Doumbouya.
Axis International said in a statement on Monday that Guinea “risks losing multilateral donor support and access to financial markets if it fails to pay compensation or refuses to participate.”
The World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes received the arbitration challenge.
A request for response was not immediately answered by Guinea’s authorities.
Axis Minerals Resources SA, a Guinean business having the rights to a bauxite mine in the Boffa region, is owned 85% by Axis International. According to the company’s statement, the permit and dozens of others were revoked in May.
According to Axis International, the mine was supporting thousands of workers and their families while working at scale, despite the government’s claims that it was underutilized or non-operational.
Pankaj Oswal, the founder of Axis International, stated in the statement that “the project evolved into a fully operational mine contributing materially to Guinea’s economy over more than a decade.”
According to the statement, Guinea is responsible for losses of at least $28.9 billion based on “proven reserves” of over 800 million metric tons.
According to the firm, the mine produced 18 million tons of bauxite in 2024, ranking it as Guinea’s second-largest exporter of bauxite ore.
