App will track harmful dust from bauxite mining in Guinea
In western Guinea, near where the Tinguilinta River meets the Atlantic Ocean, a concrete jetty extends about 275 meters into the river's channel. The jetty is equipped with a conveyor belt system, which facilitates the transport of crushed and dried bauxite—the primary ore used in the production of aluminum—from pier-side stockpiles to docked ships for export. Behind the jetty, gaseous and particulate emissions pour out of a smokestack. Meanwhile, bauxite dust drifts towards the neighboring town of Kamsar, where residents link the bauxite plant's operations to health effects such as respiratory diseases. Trains rest on tracks near Kamsar's port after completing their 120-km long journey from the mining area in Sangaredi. Five to seven trains, each equipped with 120 wagons, leave that mine every day. Each wagon contains around 82 tons of bauxite ore, amounting to between 49,200 and 68,800 tons of bauxite shipped, by railway alone, daily. These are...