Strikes held to protest the rule of ailing Guinean President Lansana Conte have disrupted the country's production of bauxite, a mineral that is processed into aluminum. Output was stopped Jan. 22 at Guinea's largest mining operation, a consortium led by U.S. firm Alcoa and Canadian firm Alcan Inc. Production has continued at Guinea's other two major bauxite mines, both of which are operated by the Russian Aluminum Group (RUSAL), despite widespread protests and strikes. With political and economic reforms expected to follow Conte's death, resignation or removal, RUSAL will ensure that any reforms affecting the country's strategic mineral sector play out to its advantage. Union workers, led by the National Confederation of Guinean Workers and the Guinean Workers Union, began demonstrating Jan. 10 against Conte's increasingly oppressive and erratic rule.