Future Terrains was sub-contracted to AMC Consultants as the independent engineer to carry out an environmental and social due diligence review of Bel Air Mining’s (BAM’s) germinal bauxite project, in Guinea, West Africa, for prospective investors. BAM is a Guinean subsidiary of Alufer Mining Limited. At the time the site was a late exploration phase site. The due diligence audit involved a comprehensive site visit, interviews and discussions with stakeholders and local communities, reviews of the ESIA and corporate policies and management plans and the germinal environmental and social management system.
The greenfield site was located in a coastal, rural area of north-west Guinea, with small, poor settlements and an already degraded forest and littoral environment. The ESIA identified numerous environmental and social challenges including, potentially, several species of conservation concern, such as western chimpanzees, hooded vultures, Atlantic hump-backed dolphins, turtle nesting beaches and endangered plants. The intended project footprint also impinged on some local communities and anticipated a small amount of resettlement, compensation, livelihood restoration and cultural heritage protection.
The due diligence process produced an environmental and social action plan for BAM to work on to bring the project into alignment with the required international standards.
