BHP Billiton, Global Alumina to raise US$2 bn

BHP Billiton, Global Alumina Corp and their partners will seek to raise US$2 billion to fund the development of a new alumina refinery in Guinea.

The joint venture intends to fund the project from a combination of bank loans and export credit guarantees, Bruce Wrobel, chief executive officer of Global Alumina, told reporters at a press conference in Dubai on Monday.

BHP Billiton, the world`s biggest mining company, is building the Sangaredi project with Global Alumina and United Arab Emirates-based partners, Mubadala Development Co and Dubai Aluminium Co.

Aluminium producers want to gain more control over the supply of raw materials to make them less vulnerable to price swings.

Guinea has the world`s largest bauxite reserves.

The Sangaredi project includes an alumina refinery with an annual capacity of 3 Mt and a bauxite mine that can produce 9 Mt/y.

Bauxite is refined into alumina, which is then smelted to make aluminium.

The alumina price has more than doubled in the past five years, as China, the world`s largest aluminium producer, expanded metal production.