The Aluminium Corporation of China, operating as Chalco, announced that its board approved a Hong Kong subsidiary’s proposal to participate in a 1.2-million-ton-per-year alumina project in Guinea, with the total investment put at roughly $1 billion.
According to an exchange filing, the board signed off on the planned investment on June 26, 2025. The company said it delayed public disclosure in line with regulatory requirements, noting that revealing the decision earlier could have had an adverse effect on the project’s progress.
On Thursday, three Chalco subsidiaries executed an amended and restated mining agreement with the government of Guinea. That agreement formalizes the current terms between the parties but is not yet final in execution: the arrangement is still subject to review by Chalco shareholders and pending approvals from related governmental agencies in Guinea.
Chalco’s Hong Kong subsidiary and the company’s mining and ports arms in Guinea originally entered a mining agreement with the local government in 2018. That earlier deal enabled the mining unit to obtain bauxite mining rights covering the Boffa north and south deposits in Guinea.
The planned alumina project in Guinea represents Chalco’s first alumina program undertaken outside China. The company estimated the overall outlay for the project at around $1 billion, according to the filing.
The filing also explained the timing of the disclosure. The company said that regulatory rules required it to withhold immediate publication of the board decision because an earlier announcement might have negatively affected the project’s advancement.
Context and next steps
The agreement signed this week reflects an updated contractual framework between Chalco’s units and Guinea’s government, but the transaction’s completion depends on internal shareholder approval and on clearances from Guinea’s relevant agencies. The company has not provided additional financial detail beyond the estimate for the overall investment or a timetable for completion.
Implications
The project marks a material development in Chalco’s international activities, establishing its first overseas alumina program and building on prior bauxite rights in the Boffa deposits. Further advances will be contingent on the specified shareholder and government approvals.