Société Minière de Boké

What Société Minière de Boké does

Société Minière de Boké (SMB) is Guinea's leading bauxite producer and exporter, founded in 2014 as the operating company of the SMB-Winning Consortium. It is incorporated in France (registered office in Montreuil, SIREN n°795 40 021 Bobigny) with primary operations in the Boké region of Guinea and a headquarters in Conakry. SMB extracts and exports metallurgical-grade bauxite from mining sites at Santou, Houda, Malapouya, and Dabiss, shipping the crushed ore via an integrated logistics chain that includes a company-owned railway (with 80 bridges, 80 tunnels, and 80 depots), the Dapilon and Katougouma river ports, and floating-crane maritime transshipment to ocean-going cargo ships.

SMB's business model is direct export of a globally commoditized raw material to international aluminum smelters and global commodity trading counterparties under CIF/FOB contracts, with prices determined by international bauxite markets rather than company-set pricing. The customer base is concentrated in the global aluminum supply chain, and the company reaches buyers through participation in major mining forums such as Mining Indaba and the Fastmarkets Bauxite & Alumina Conference, complemented by a corporate website and press releases. In 2024, SMB produced 55 million tonnes of bauxite, contributing 38% of Guinea's national production and 39% of its bauxite exports, and helping position Guinea as the world's 2nd largest bauxite producer. The company operates on a 1,603.72 km² mining permit area across Boké and Télimélé prefectures under conventions ratified by Guinea's National Assembly in December 2018.

The technology and infrastructure backbone is fully owned and operated: mining extraction feeds directly into a captive railway, river ports, and transshipment system, giving SMB integrated control over the mine-to-vessel value chain. The SMB-Winning Consortium structure includes UMS (United Mining Supply) as the mining-logistics subsidiary and WCAG (Winning Consortium Alumina Guinea) as the downstream alumina subsidiary, with WCAG having launched an alumina refinery at Dobali on December 12, 2025 as the consortium's first move into alumina processing. SMB supplements its core mining operations with social and agricultural development programs, including the SMB-Winning Foundation, the Foot for Change youth program, a railway-corridor agricultural project, and a multi-specialty hospital at Dapilon. Up to $1 billion of planned investment has been committed to expand bauxite export capacity.

Name

Société Minière de Boké

Legal name

Société Minière de Boké

Website

https://smb-guinee.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Société Minière de Boké (SMB) is Guinea's largest bauxite producer and exporter, founded in 2014 within the SMB-Winning Consortium. It extracts bauxite from sites in the Boké region and ships it internationally via its own railway, river ports, and maritime transshipment to aluminum smelters and commodity traders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bauxite Mining and Export

SIC

Miscellaneous Metal Ores (1090), Wholesale-Metals & Minerals (No Petroleum) (5050)

akta.pro primary industry

Bauxite Mining & Beneficiation (IMAKACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Industrial Minerals Trading (Phosphate, Potash, Sulfur, Borates, Barite, Talc) (IMAKAJAF)

Keywords

• Bauxite mining
• Alumina grade ore
• Mineral export logistics
• Bulk commodity shipping
• Integrated rail port

Headquarters

HQ city

Conakry

HQ country

Guinea

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Bauxite Export: Extraction and sale of bauxite ore to international aluminum smelters and commodity buyers. Revenue is generated through the export of bauxite from Guinea to global markets, primarily serving the aluminum industry supply chain.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Société Minière de Boké extracts metallurgical-grade bauxite from its concessions in the Boké region of Guinea and exports it to international alumina refiners and aluminum smelters through an integrated pit-to-ship value chain. The company operates four open-pit mines (Santou, Houda, Malapouya, Dabiss), a dedicated heavy-haul rail corridor, river-barge loading on the Fatala River, and two captive deep-water port terminals (Dapilon and Katougouma) used to load cape-size and panamax vessels. In 2024, production reached approximately 55 million tonnes, making SMB the largest bauxite producer in Guinea.

Product overview

Société Minière de Boké (SMB) is a mining company operating as part of the SMB-Winning Consortium, focused on the extraction and export of bauxite ore from Guinea. The company operates an integrated mining and logistics system comprising three mining sites (Santou, Houda, Malapouya, and Dabiss), a railway infrastructure network connecting mines to river ports, and maritime export operations. SMB's product portfolio centers on bauxite mining and export as its core offering, supplemented by integrated infrastructure services including railway transport and port logistics. The company also operates community development programs through the SMB-Winning Foundation, including the Foot for Change sports education program, healthcare facilities, and agricultural development initiatives along the railway corridor.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Foot for Change: A program to promote athletic and academic excellence for young girls in Guinea, launched in January 2019
• SMB-Winning Foundation
• Winning Consortium Alumina Guinea (WCAG)

Products and services

• Bauxite Mining and Export (Santou, Houda, Malapouya, Dabiss) Open-pit extraction of metallurgical-grade bauxite ore from the Santou, Houda, Malapouya, and Dabiss concessions in the Boké region of Guinea, sold to international alumina refineries and aluminum smelters.
• Captive Rail and River-Barge Transport Corridor Company-owned heavy-haul railway and river-barge loading infrastructure that transports bauxite from inland mining sites to coastal port terminals for international export.
• Port and Shiploading Operations at Dapilon and Katougouma Captive deep-water port terminals at Dapilon and Katougouma providing cape-size and panamax vessel loading, stockpiling, and shipping services for exported bauxite cargoes.

Quantifiable outcome

• 38% of Guinea's bauxite production and 39% of exports
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Winning Consortium Alumina Guinea (WCAG)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2018WCAG is developing an alumina refinery project at Dobali in Kanfarande sub-prefecture (Boké prefecture). Launched December 12, 2025, this strategic initiative represents vertical integration beyond raw bauxite export into alumina processing, a historic turning point for Guinea's industrial development under the Simandou 2040 vision.
• United Mining Supply (UMS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2018UMS is a subsidiary and key partner within the SMB-Winning Consortium, specializing in mining logistics. The partnership involves joint operations including the annual Consortium Tournament, rice cultivation projects (Phase 2 launched July 2025), and infrastructure projects like the Place des Martyrs redevelopment in Boké.
• TotalEnergies GuineaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLong-standing partner for the TotalEnergies Guinea Half Marathon. SMB-Winning Foundation supports this major sporting event with employee participation, promoting values of self-improvement, teamwork, and solidarity.
• ADAP-GuinéeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the Agricultural Project of the Railway Corridor (Projet Agricole du Couloir Ferroviaire), conducting training sessions on market gardening cultivation techniques as part of sustainable development initiatives.
• DPA-EminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint partner in the green and sustainable corridor initiative, working together with ADAP-Guinée for agricultural development along the railway corridor in Boké region.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Alcoa Corporation: Integrated aluminum producer with active bauxite mining across Brazil, Australia, and Guinea interests. Competitor for long-term offtake contracts and a benchmark for downstream-integrated economics in the aluminum value chain.
• Rio Tinto: World's largest bauxite miner through operations at Weipa (Australia) and Gove, plus integrated aluminum via Pacific Aluminium. Sets the global benchmark for scale, cost, and reserve life in bauxite mining.
• Norsk Hydro ASA: Integrated Norwegian aluminum producer operating the Paragominas bauxite mine in Brazil and alumina refinery at Alunorte. Comparable end-to-end bauxite-to-aluminum model and competing for seaborne bauxite supply into global smelters.
• South32 Limited: Diversified miner with the Worsley Alumina joint venture (bauxite mine + alumina refinery) in Australia. Closely analogous integrated bauxite/alumina business model and competes with SMB for metallurgical-grade bauxite offtake.
• Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA): Integrated UAE-based aluminum giant with significant bauxite mining and alumina refining in Guinea (Guinea Alumina Corporation/GAC). Directly comparable mine-to-metal structure targeting the same international smelter customers as SMB.
• United Company RUSAL: Global integrated aluminum producer with significant Guinea bauxite assets (Kindia, Friguia) and alumina refining capacity. Competes with SMB in Guinea and downstream aluminum markets, with similar integrated mine-to-metal ambitions.

Emerging players

• Hindalco Industries (Aditya Birla Group): Indian integrated aluminum and copper major with bauxite mining operations in India and Australia. A growing global buyer of seaborne bauxite and an emerging competitor with vertically integrated ambitions similar to SMB's.
• China Hongqiao Group: World's largest aluminum producer by capacity, with growing captive bauxite interests in Indonesia, Guinea, and elsewhere. Increasingly a major competitor in seaborne bauxite as it secures supply chains for its smelting portfolio.
• Bosai Minerals Group: Chinese-backed bauxite miner with significant operations in Guyana and other jurisdictions. Competes with SMB in the seaborne metallurgical bauxite market and represents the rising wave of non-traditional bauxite suppliers.

Direct peers

• Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée (CBG): Guinea's other flagship bauxite mining joint venture (Halco partnership). Operates the Sangarédi mine and exports bauxite from the same Boké region, directly competing with SMB for reserves, port capacity, and international smelter customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/societeminieredeboke
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/soci%C3%A9t%C3%A9-mini%C3%A8re-de-bok%C3%A9

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Société Minière de Boké