Fluor Corp reports Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée (CBG) has achieved first ore at its Bauxite Production Expansion project in Kamsar, Guinea, safely, on budget and on schedule.

The project is expanding bauxite production at the mine from 13.5 to 18.5 Mt/y, with Fluor, as the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services contractor, responsible for the expansion of the mine infrastructure, rail system, port facility and processing plant infrastructure and utilities.

Tony Morgan, President of Fluor’s Mining & Metals business, said: “From developing the local craft workforce to strengthening the economy, this project will have a lasting positive impact on the Kamsar community. Achieving this milestone safely, on budget and on schedule is a testament to the dedication and perseverance of the joint CBG and Fluor team.”

There were more than 1,500 craft workers on site at peak construction. The project team focused on hiring a local workforce, which resulted in Guinean workers representing nearly 75% of the employees on site.

To align the workforce on safe work practices and create a safe work culture at the site, Fluor developed a specialised safety programme. This allowed more than 4 million hours of work to be completed without a lost-time incident.

CBG is jointly owned by the Government of Guinea and the Halco Mining consortium, which includes Alcoa, Rio Tinto and Dadco Investments.

Fluor’s Tony Morgan recently spoke to IM for its annual December issue focus on EPC and EPCM contractors. You can read part of the Q&A here.