Galway man on brink of African mining fortune

A Galway-born businessman is hoping to strike it rich with his investment in mining in West Africa – thousands of samples were delivered to Loughrea this week and the business could be worth billions of dollars.

John O’Connor – who is originally from Gort – is a seasoned investor and in recent years has been concentrating on natural resources and mining.

Through his O’Connor International, he raised €12m for Anglo-African Minerals, which has four bauxite (aluminium ore) mining licences in Guinea.

This week, around 10,000 bauxite samples were delivered to ALS Loughrea, which provides mineral testing services for the global mining industry.

If its quantity and quality can be independently verified, AAM will be floated on the stock exchange, so the sites in Guinea are potentially worth billions.

The 60-year-old is the son of renowned greyhound trainer Barney ‘Algie’ O’Connor from Gort, but moved to England as a child.

He lives in Cashel and was joined recently in the business by Munster and All Black rugby legend Doug Howlett.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.