A chequered African history of commodity markets, part one: bauxite and aluminium

The African endowment in mineral resources is well known and has often been a mixed blessing, according to the socalled “natural resources curse”. Bauxite, an ore that serves as a feedstock for aluminium production, is particularly present in Guinean soil but, notwithstanding its efforts to do so, this country has not yet succeeded in transforming this red treasure into a real source of social and economic development. Despite the difficult economic context and a long road ahead, there are a number of reasons to expect improvements on this front.