By: Rfi

An Indian businessman is seeking $1 billion in damages from Guinea after losing his mining licence for a bauxite deposit in the Boffa region. Pankaj Oswal has requested arbitration before a New York court, denouncing Conakry’s treatment of foreign investors.

Oswal described it as “a shock” when he discovered that Axis Minerals’ mining licence had been revoked. The Guinean subsidiary of the Oswal Global group had been operating the site since 2020, following years of exploration and investment in the project.

Axis Minerals was among 51 mining licences withdrawn in sweeping cancellations ordered by the junta and its government. The clean-up of the national mining register is justified, according to General Amara Camara, spokesperson for the Guinean presidency, on the grounds that “most of the permits were in breach of the mining code”.

For Oswal, it was a brutal blow. He stated that operations were halted from one day to the next, leaving 5,000 employees and subcontractors without work. He claims they received no prior warning, letter, or discussion asking them to correct anything. The businessman, who now lives in Switzerland, added that while the government claimed companies had failed to meet certain obligations, particularly in local processing, they were never previously asked to build an alumina refinery or downstream plant.

After writing to the authorities several times without receiving a reply, Axis Minerals launched ad hoc arbitration proceedings in New York in early July. Oswal warned that their claim for damages amounts to more than $1 billion, though he insists he is still open to dialogue and would be ready to invest in Guinea again once the dispute is resolved.

Guinea has not yet agreed to arbitration but has been formally served with Axis Minerals’ request to compel it to do so. The government received the notice on September 1. When contacted for comment, the Guinean Ministry of Mines declined to respond.

Oswal questioned Conakry’s approach to foreign investors, noting that while Guinea promotes investment abroad through initiatives like the Simandou 2040 programme, it sends the wrong signal by expelling those who have already invested. He argued that the country should first protect existing investors rather than lure in new ones only to strip them of their assets later.

Just before losing its licence, Axis Minerals reported average production of 169,000 tonnes of bauxite per day, most of it exported to China. Its mines between Fria and Boffa had enabled the export of nearly 40 million tonnes of bauxite between 2023 and 2025.