Kirkvine bauxite plant could reopen next month

　　Jamaica'S bauxite/alumina industry may be making a comeback soon as the Kirkvine mining plant in Manchester could reopen next month.

　　Minister of Energy and Mining Clive Mullings last Friday disclosed that the Cabinet was scheduled to consider a proposal yesterday that could lead to the Kirkvine plant's reopening.

　　"We expect and hope that the plant will be reopened in the month of October," Mullings said at a press conference at his ministry.

　　However, he cautioned that there was volatility in the bauxite sector and in the Eurozone itself that could affect the timetable for the plant's reopening.

　　Mullings also disclosed that the 35 per cent stake in the Alpart plant owned by Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company Norsk Hydro has been sold to the Russian entity UC Rusal for US$46 million.

　　Norsk Hydro, in a release on Friday, said UC Rusal - the world's top aluminium producer - will own all the shares in Alpart when the transaction is completed in October.

　　Operations in the Alpart bauxite mines and the alumina refinery in Nain, St Elizabeth, with a production capacity of around 1.65 million tonnes alumina per year, have been shut down since 2009 due to over-capacity in the alumina market.

　　Mullings said the chairman of Norsk Hydro is to visit Jamaica to express his appreciation for the collaboration and assistance with Jamaica since 1989 when the company acquire shares in Alpart.

　　Mullings said Norsk Hydro indicated that they will be focusing on their assets in Brazil. "He (Norsk Hydro's chairman) was at pains to point out that it's not a question about any doubts about Jamaica, but they were in fact a minority partner in Alpart, and they are concentrating all their efforts in Brazil," the minister stated.

　　Also, Mullings disclosed that there were "two firm offers on the table" for the sale of the 45 per cent stake in the Jamalco plant currently held by Government through Clarendon Alumina Productions.

　　He said the offers, from the United States aluminum producer Alcoa and Swiss-based company Glencore, are to be considered by Cabinet next week.