St Ann Bauxite increases production target

There is good news for Jamaica's bauxite industry as production at the St Ann Bauxite Company in Discovery Bay, St Ann, is to be increased by some 25 per cent, beginning within the next three months. The announcement was made Tuesday at the plant following the acquisition by Noranda Aluminium, a few days earlier, of company shares previously held by Century Aluminium, giving Noranda a 49 per cent stake in the company with Government of Jamaica having the other 51 per cent. Noranda will be the managing partners in the arrangement. According to president of St Ann Bauxite, Larry Holley, the company will be shipping 110 loads of ore from the Discovery Bay port over the next 12 months, which means the export figure will move to 4.2 million tonnes, up from the 3.1 million tonnes projected earlier. Highest production level However, Mining and Energy Minister James Robertson, who was at the plant for the announcement, challenged the company to ramp up production to 4.5 million, a figure which, he said, the Jamaica Bauxite Institute acknowledges as the highest production level the plant is capable of achieving. The new production target will mean the 580 workers employed to the company will now return to full-time employment after being forced to work three days less per month because of the downturn in the industry. General Manager Pansy Johnson told The Gleaner the workers will revert to the full 40-hour work schedule. However, she explained that the 150 workers who were laid off by the company earlier this year will not be recalled. The new development will also mean that the company's maintenance programme, which was on hold, will be accelerated to meet the new demand. But Holley was confident the new target could be achieved. "We already commissioned a new water well to alleviate some of the hurdles that we have. We're going to be moving forward on all fronts. We have an extremely strong staff in St Ann that will be driving this and we have the utmost confidence in them," Holley told The Gleaner. Meanwhile, the mining and energy minister was upbeat about the announcement. He said the increased investment and output by Noranda meant investors were warming to positive indications in the bauxite and alumina sector. "That's a tremendous signal. Jamaica has gone through a hard time. The fallout in the bauxite industry and the world crisis, we've weathered it with the leadership of our PM Bruce Golding. "... Up to five o'clock a day ago, we were not sure what signal Noranda was going to send. We knew they were going to ramp up but we never thought it would be at the level of 110 ships," Robertson told The Gleaner. Leaders and beaters He added: "They (Noranda) are being proactive, they are reading the market and are making their investment and they are banking on us, the workers, the greater Jamaica community, to be world leaders and beaters again." He was, however, cautious when asked if this development signalled the start of a turnaround in the fortunes of Jamaica's bauxite industry, even with Windalco, Alpart and Kirkvine facing challenges. "The challenge there in terms of those three plants is capital investment for refuel and reinvestment in those plants. They are old plants and a new energy supply, liquid natural gas. The answer is we are pressing on. "This also sends a signal for the investments that were envisaging before the crisis. We are continuing and renewing the push to get those investments for the people of Jamaica. So the answer is yes, we are positive."