Earlier this month, President Trump declared U.S. had become too dependent on foreigners for aluminum and placed a 10% tariff on imports.
MineralVest has concessions in Guinea, Africa containing bauxite which is a clay rock that is refined and smelted to produce aluminum. As a result, many have inquired whether this would have any impact on the mining and sale of bauxite from these concessions.
The short answer is – no.
In the earlier 1900s, the U.S. supplied 94% of the world’s bauxite. Since the 1980s, the U.S. has supplied less than 1% each year. It’s simply not economical to mine the mineral in the U.S. and alumina production consumes excessive amounts of electricity which is why smelting has been moved offshore as well. Nearly all bauxite consumed in the U.S. was imported.
We believe that making U.S. bauxite production economical would require an import tariff so high, that it would cause U.S. aluminum manufacturers to become uncompetitive. The U.S. will continue to import and neighboring Asian countries will continue to be the dominate importer of these minerals.
