Guinea's CBG says output unaffected by protests

DAKAR, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Protests that have blocked a railway track used by Guinean bauxite miner Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee (CBG) have not affected production at the world's top exporter, part-owners Alcoa said late on Friday.

Demonstrators angry at poor electricity supplies in Boke, where CBG's mine produces around two thirds of Guinea's bauxite, have erected barricades on the railway line CBG uses.

"While we're aware of the protesting that's going on, at this point it has not impacted our production there," an Alcoa spokesman said late on Friday.

Guinea is the world's No. 1 source of the aluminium ore, and CBG the biggest exporting firm. CBG said at the start of the year it aimed to produce a record 13.5 million tonnes in 2008, up from 12.5 million tonnes last year.

Protests about poor public services are common in the impoverished west African country, and demonstrations over poor electricity supplies often target bauxite operations as these tend to generate power for surrounding towns under their deals with the government.

Alcoa (AA.N) and Rio Tinto Alcan (RIO.L) control the Halco joint venture that owns 51 percent of CBG, and the Guinean government holds the remainder.

In July, the Guinean government said it was replacing Alcoa as manager of CBG with an interim committee. [ID:nL18903866]

Earlier this month, one person was killed during a five-day power protest in the town of Mambia that stopped trains carrying bauxite for Russian aluminium firm UC RUSAL.

As well as bauxite, Guinea has large reserves of steel-making raw material iron ore. Rio Tinto is majority owner of the $6 billion Simandou iron ore project, which the firm says is the world's best unexploited resource. (Reporting by Daniel Magnowski; Editing by Chris Pizzey)