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

The report details extensive violations of human and environmental rights caused by the Société Minière de Boké (SMB) in Guinea's Boké region. Key findings include severe air, soil, and water pollution leading to respiratory diseases and agricultural decline, illegal land dispossession with inadequate compensation, and a lack of community participation in environmental impact assessments. The document concludes with demands for SMB to implement resettlement and livelihood recovery plans and for the Guinean state to conduct independent impact studies.

• Bauxite extraction and transport by SMB have caused significant air pollution, specifically through dust emissions during the dry season, which has led to widespread respiratory health issues including coughing, sinusitis, and pneumonia among local residents.
• Mining activities have severely degraded water quality through the pollution of streams, spring heads, and water tables. Runoff from mine sites turns water the color of bauxite, making it unfit for drinking or washing, and some company-installed wells have developed a grayish surface plate, rendering them unsafe for consumption.
• Dust deposits on plant leaves have hindered photosynthesis and pollination, causing a sharp decline in agricultural productivity. For example, one resident reported cashew nut harvests dropping from 15-20 kilograms per day to less than 5 kilograms per day.
• SMB has illegally dispossessed communities of their land by ignoring customary land rights and treating land subject to Expropriation for Public Utility (ECUP) as State-owned. Compensation provided to affected populations has been insufficient, often delivered as lump sums without an adversarial census or transparent price matrix.
• The mining operations have negatively impacted food security and livelihoods, transforming the Katougouma district from a self-sufficient 'granary of the region' to a state where families rely on imported rice due to the loss of fertile land and fish.
• There has been a systemic failure in transparency and community engagement; residents of the 24 villages report they were not involved in the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) process conducted by SMB.
• The report identifies failures in site remediation, noting that in Lansanaya, where mining ceased in 2019, cashew trees planted by SMB as part of the rehabilitation process have failed to grow after four years.

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} }