SUMMARY BOOKLET OF THE COMMUNITY AUDIT REPORT ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF THE SOCIÉTÉ MINIÈRE DE BOKÉ (SMB)

This summary booklet outlines a community audit conducted between 2018 and 2023 regarding the environmental and social impacts of bauxite mining by Société Minière de Boké (SMB) in the Boké region of Guinea. The audit, supported by several NGOs, identifies widespread violations of rights to a healthy environment, land, water, health, food, and information across 24 villages.

• Bauxite mining activities by SMB have caused significant air, soil, and water pollution. Air pollution is characterized by high levels of dust during extraction and transport, particularly in the dry season, which has led to respiratory issues such as coughing, sinusitis, and pneumonia among local residents. Dust deposits on plant leaves have also hindered photosynthesis, reducing agricultural productivity; for example, one woman reported her cashew nut harvest dropped from 15-20 kilograms per day to less than 5 kilograms.
• Communities in the Boké region have been illegally dispossessed of land, with SMB ignoring customary land rights by treating land subject to Expropriation for Public Utility (ECUP) as State property. Compensation provided to affected populations has been insufficient, often delivered as lump sums that do not cover actual losses. Furthermore, affected persons were denied access to the price matrix or census documents, and no adversarial census was conducted.
• Access to potable water has been severely compromised. Mine site runoff turns streams the color of bauxite after rainfall, making them unfit for drinking or washing. In Lansanaya, a borehole installed by SMB is non-functional for drinking due to a grayish film forming on the water surface. Some communities, such as those in Hafia, must travel 4 km to fetch water during the dry season, sharing sources with livestock, which increases exposure to waterborne diseases.
• Mining operations have led to recurrent health problems and safety accidents. Local medical officers report that gastritis and respiratory diseases are the most common ailments in the area. Additionally, blasting operations near villages have caused structural cracks in homes and physical injuries; the document cites a case in Barkèrè where a boy entered a coma after being hit by a bauxite projectile during blasting.
• The right to food and development has been undermined by the loss of fertile farmland and decreased productivity. In Katougouma, which was previously a regional 'granary' self-sufficient in rice and fish, families now rely on imported rice. Infrastructure such as drainage channels built for mining roads has caused flooding in rice fields, destroying crops.
• SMB failed to involve local communities in the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) process, violating rights to information and participation. Residents of the 24 villages reported they were not associated with the planning or consultation phases, leaving them unaware of the externalities of bauxite mining or the planned mitigation measures.
• Site remediation efforts have been inadequate. In Lansanaya, where mining ceased in 2019, the land was returned to the community, but cashew trees planted by SMB as part of the rehabilitation process failed to grow over a four-year period.

APA

Natural Justice (2023). SUMMARY BOOKLET OF THE COMMUNITY AUDIT REPORT ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF THE SOCIÉTÉ MINIÈRE DE BOKÉ (SMB). https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/SUMMARY-BOOKLET-OF-THE-COMMUNITY-AUDIT-REPORT-1.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. SUMMARY BOOKLET OF THE COMMUNITY AUDIT REPORT ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF THE SOCIÉTÉ MINIÈRE DE BOKÉ (SMB). 2023. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/SUMMARY-BOOKLET-OF-THE-COMMUNITY-AUDIT-REPORT-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=SUMMARY BOOKLET OF THE COMMUNITY AUDIT REPORT ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF THE SOCIÉTÉ MINIÈRE DE BOKÉ (SMB) |date=February 2023 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/SUMMARY-BOOKLET-OF-THE-COMMUNITY-AUDIT-REPORT-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljustice2023summary, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{SUMMARY BOOKLET OF THE COMMUNITY AUDIT REPORT ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF THE SOCIÉTÉ MINIÈRE DE BOKÉ (SMB)}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2023}, month = feb, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/SUMMARY-BOOKLET-OF-THE-COMMUNITY-AUDIT-REPORT-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }