Friguia Bauxite Mine & Alumina Refinery

Friguia Bauxite Mine & Alumina Refinery is an aluminium smelter in Guinea with a reported capacity of 755,000 t of alumina/aluminum. It smelts alumina into primary aluminium by high-current electrolysis. By capacity it ranks #1 of 3 aluminium smelters tracked in Guinea. It emits about 1,577,749 tonnes of CO₂e per year (Climate TRACE) — roughly the tailpipe emissions of 367,774 cars.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-43764989.

Im Kontext: wie sich diese Anlage vergleicht

Bei 755,000 t of alumina/aluminum ist Friguia Bauxite Mine & Alumina Refinery deutlich über dem Medianwert von aluminium smelter in Guinea (555,356 t of alumina/aluminum). Untersektor: aluminum. Als aluminium smelter benötigt es intensive Prozesswärme (typischerweise 600–900°C) für seinen Kernbetrieb — Wärme, die durch Dampfkessel, Öfen oder direkte Verbrennung geliefert werden muss, und Verluste durch ungedämmte Behälter und Rohrleitungen stellen verschwendeten Brennstoff dar. Modulare abnehmbare Dämmung kann diese Verluste um 80–96% senken, Oberflächen auf ≤45°C kühlen, mit Amortisationszeiten oft unter 2 Jahren. Aluminiumhütten nutzen große Elektroströme, um Tonerde in geschmolzenes Aluminium über 900°C zu raffinieren, und das heiße Metall muss durch Tiegel und Gießausrüstung fließen.

Vergleich von Kapazität und CO₂-Intensität berechnet aus Climate TRACE Industrieanlagendaten; Sektorrolle basierend auf Ingenieurreferenz.

What 1,577,749 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's reported annual CO₂e in the everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest aluminium smelters in Guinea

Reported capacity (t of alumina/aluminum), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Local climate

Friguia Bauxite Mine & Alumina Refinery sits in a tropical monsoon climate zone (Köppen Am), at 10.4°N in the northern hemisphere.

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

How it compares & nearby sites

The #1 largest of 3 aluminium smelters in Guinea by reported capacity.

Nearby industrial sites

• Fria Prefecture · Aluminium Smelter · 215,530 t CO₂
• Diamond Conarky Cement Plant · Cement Plant · 212,740 t CO₂
• Boké Prefecture · Aluminium Smelter · 1,160,546 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates 10.38869, -13.5786. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

A aluminium smelter like this runs hot equipment that sheds heat continuously: alumina calciner, casthouse furnaces, hot ducting (electrolysis itself is electric) (surface/process temperatures around 150–1,000 °C). These surfaces lose energy to the air year-round; removable modular insulation cuts that loss, brings outer surfaces to ≤45 °C, and unclips for inspection.

electrolysis is mostly electricity (Scope 2) + anode process; on-site combustion small - insulation mainly relevant to alumina refining/casthouse.

Indicative recoverable energy

On an already-insulated site (pipes & valves in cladding / jackets), closing the remaining gaps, flanges and damaged sections and switching to removable covers indicatively recovers about 2,900 MWh/yr (≈ 580 t CO₂/yr) — scaled to this site's reported CO₂ within its sector. Bare or damaged surfaces recover several times more.

See Inzonex insulation → Estimate your site →

Indicative, not a measurement. Conservative floor for an already-insulated plant; a TIPCHECK on-site audit gives a measured figure. Industry context: EiiF TIPCHECK — industrial insulation can save ~14 Mtoe/yr in EU, payback typically <2 years.

Safety & the no-regret first step

Bare hot surfaces here exceed the touch-safe limit (EN ISO 13732-1); insulation to ≤45 °C is a worker-safety and compliance win. And before electrification, fuel-switching or CCS, eliminating surface heat loss is the cheapest, fastest, lowest-risk step — audit the bare spots first, rip-and-replace later.

External climate finance your country can access

Domestic energy-efficiency grants are limited here; industrial decarbonisation is mainly funded externally:

• Japan JCM (Joint Crediting Mechanism) — Japan co-finances diffusion of decarbonising tech incl. INDUSTRIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY in partner countries, in exchange for carbon credits. Channels: MOEJ model projects, ADB trust funds, NEDO demonstrations.
• UK International Climate Finance (ICF / ODA) — ~GBP 6bn ODA over 3 yrs; industrial-decarbonisation flows via Climate Investment Funds (CIF) - Clean Technology Fund.
• Green Climate Fund (GCF) + ADB / World Bank / UNIDO — Concessional finance & grants for industrial energy efficiency. E.g. GCF $200M ADB-led India Green Finance Facility; World Bank FP071 'Scaling Up Energy Efficiency for Industrial Enterprises in Vietnam'; ASEAN ACGF energy-efficiency revolving funds incl. SMEs.

Routed via national development banks / accredited entities — not a direct factory grant. Verified 2026.

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