Axis International Ltd has filed a $28.9 billion arbitration claim against Guinea at a World Bank tribunal after the West African country revoked its permit to operate a bauxite mine earlier this year, the United Arab Emirates-based company said.
- Axis International Ltd has filed a $28.9 billion arbitration claim against Guinea due to the revocation of its bauxite mining permit.
- The case has been submitted to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) for resolution.
- Guinea has implemented a policy shift towards tighter state control over its mining sector, leading to the redistribution of permits.
- The mining nationalization efforts in Guinea align with similar actions in junta-led African states such as Mali and Burkina Faso.
The case was submitted to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the World Bank’s arbitration body for disputes between states and foreign investors.
Guinea, which holds the world’s largest reserves of bauxite, has spent the past year tightening state control over its mining sector, revoking and reallocating permits as it pushes for higher revenues and increased local processing.
The policy shift has intensified under the military-led government of coup leader Mamady Doumbouya.
Axis International said its permit was terminated in May, alongside dozens of others. The company owns 85% of Axis Minerals Resources SA, a Guinean entity with rights to a bauxite mine in the Boffa region according to Reuters.
While the government argued the mine was not operational or underutilised, Axis disputed that claim.
“Over more than a decade, the project developed into a fully operational mine contributing materially to Guinea’s economy,” founder Pankaj Oswal said.
The mine produced 18 million metric tons of bauxite in 2024, making it Guinea’s second-largest source of bauxite exports, the company said. Axis added that Guinea is liable for at least $28.9 billion in damages, based on proven reserves exceeding 800 million metric tons.
“If it fails to pay compensation or refuses to participate, Guinea risks losing multilateral donor support and access to financial markets,” the company said.
Guinea’s government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mining nationalisation spreads across junta-led African states
Axis’s case is one of several arbitration challenges facing Guinea following its mining overhaul. Nomad Bauxite Corporation filed a claim in November, while Nimba Investment LLC launched proceedings this month, Reuters reported.
Similar tensions are emerging across junta-led African states, particularly in the Sahel. Mali’s military government has revised its mining code to raise royalties, boost state equity stakes, and enforce stricter local processing rules, moves that have lifted state revenues but unsettled some foreign operators.
Burkina Faso has also expanded state participation in gold mining and tightened oversight of artisanal production to curb smuggling.
Beyond junta-led states, countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo have increased the role of state-owned miners and tightened controls over strategic minerals, triggering investor concerns but strengthening government leverage.
While nationalisation drives have sparked legal disputes, some African-owned and state-linked mining firms have reported higher revenues and stronger negotiating power, highlighting the difficult trade-off between resource sovereignty and investor confidence now reshaping Africa’s mining landscape.
