Workers begin strike at RUSAL Guinea alumina plant

CONAKRY, April 1 (Reuters) - Workers at Russian aluminium firm RUSAL's Friguia alumina refinery in Guinea began a strike on Wednesday, a mines ministry official in the West African country said. "Workers at Friguia went on strike today for better salaries," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We are on site, and we have convinced them to begin negotiations," he said. "A reduced workforce is keeping a minimum service going so the refinery does not shut down completely," the official said. Friguia employs more than 1,000 people to refine bauxite into alumina, an intermediate product which is then smelted to become aluminium MAL3. It has capacity to produce 640,000 tonnes of alumina per year, according to the firm's website. RUSAL is expanding Friguia's capacity to around 1 million tonnes. Officials at RUSAL's Moscow headquarters could not immediately be reached for comment. Guinea is the world's biggest bauxite exporter. Since taking power last December, its ruling military junta has repeatedly threatened to review and cancel contracts the previous government signed with the many international mining firms that work there. Though rich in gold and iron ore as well as bauxite, Guinea is deeply impoverished, and in the past Guineans have targeted resources firms in protests against lack of water and electricity. On Wednesday, the military administration released three former mines ministers from custody after the men said they would repay money the new government accused them of embezzling while in office. (Reporting by Saliou Samb, additional reporting and writing by Daniel Magnowski in Dakar)