Let’s all re-commit to making this industry buoyant again

Oct 30, 2016 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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(An address by Minister Raphael Trotman at the Centennial Bauxite Symposium on October 26, 2016)
The year 2016 signifies an iconic landmark in the still-unfolding story of bauxite mining in Guyana as we proudly celebrate Guyana’s 100th year of bauxite mining. It commemorates one full Century of a rich history marked by numerous accomplishments, continual expansion and challenges. Bauxite was one of the leading mineral sub-sectors and accounted for a significant portion of the overall income generated from mineral export.
Thanks in large measure to bauxite mining, we Guyanese have been imbued with a pride that equals our keen determination and capability to overcome. Indeed, it was in this hilly, sand and clay belt of Guyana that never-before accomplished feats of Engineering were achieved and mastered.
Today, 100 years after we began however, much of that history is at risk of being lost. That pride in our prowess has retreated. Now is the time for Government and Opposition, the companies, unions, and most especially, the workers to re-commit to making this industry buoyant again.
Research has confirmed that there is still an average of 100 years worth of bauxite deposits in the region’s reserves. This calculation is excellent news for residents of Region 10 especially.
As at September 30, 2016 bauxite production had increased by some 38,000 tonnes. The current total is 1,138,182.80 tonnes. However, for us to continue to reap benefits from this industry, we must learn from its successes and failures and implement measures to transform, utilizing modern technologies to increase production and develop value added products.
Let us reflect on a few of the more notable milestones in the evolution of bauxite in Guyana:-
§ Early bauxite discoveries of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries led to the official commencement of bauxite mining in 1916 at the Three Friends Mine, Mackenzie.
§ Guyana was known to have a 350-million-ton bauxite reserve, one of the world’s highest concentrations of this valuable mineral.
§ Operations were later expanded forty miles south of Mackenzie to the Ituni area. The increased demand for Aluminum, driven by World War II, raised bauxite production to record levels from the 1940s.
§ Brighter prospects led to the construction of several long term infrastructure including an aluminum processing plant and a nine-mile long railway system with a steam-driven locomotive.
§ In the 1970s, Guyana had the advantage of being the world’s leading supplier of ‘A’ grade Super-Calcined bauxite, the key material used in the bricks that line steel furnaces and for other high-temperature applications.
§ The Alumina Plant was constructed in 1961 to add value to one of three main bauxite products, Chemical Grade Bauxite (CGB). The other two main products were Refractory ‘A’ Grade Super-Calcined (RASC) bauxite, and Metallurgical Grade Bauxite (MAZ). The plant produced the primary by-product, Alumina, a silvery-white, soft, nonmagnetic, ductile ingredient for metals.
§ The bauxite sector transitioned from being nationalized (1974) to completely privatized (2000’s).
The industry benefited from more than US$180M in Capital Investment between 2005 and 2014. In terms of job creation, more than one thousand persons are currently directly employed by the two operating bauxite Companies, Bosai Minerals Group (Guyana) Inc. (545) and the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc. (524).
The Government is pleased to see that these two operators have announced that their employees will now be granted tax-free overtime. This has been a burning issue that the companies had been trying to settle for a long time. Workers were even contemplating strike action. Indirect employment has included many contractors who provided a wide range of services to the bauxite companies.
Recent as well, the Canadian Company, First Bauxite Corporation, has been granted a 50-year land lease through its local subsidiary, Guyana Industrial Minerals Inc. The company has completed and submitted a Technical Report on the Feasibility Study for the Bonasika Proppant Project in Essequibo. If approved, this would be Guyana’s third Bauxite mining operation.
The sector for several decades has been instrumental in the development of Guyana’s economy. It has supported many lives and livelihoods. It has created competent skills at all levels, contributed heavily to the health and well being of its workforce, and scored numerous remarkable achievements. Beginning in the late 20th Century, however, high world market prices, stiff competition from Chinese bauxite and other externalities affected bauxite trade and the industry declined. It is now in need of innovation and capital injection to improve its efficiency.
It is against this background that the Ministry of Natural Resources will conduct a detailed review of the sector. An expert Bauxite Sectoral Review Committee will conduct a feasibility study for mine development and the construction of a modern alumina refinery in Linden, forming part of a strategy to integrate the bauxite industry while transforming the economy of Region 10.
This Committee should commence work in November 2016 and conclude by February 2017. Collectively, these industry experts represent several decades of combined bauxite management and leadership expertise. Mr. E. Lance Carberry and Mr. Sylvester Carmichael will be supported by the Regional Administration, the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union and the Geology and Mines Commission.
Given the national significance of this industry, the Government will invite the Parliamentary Opposition to participate. We hope that on this occasion our entreaties will not be rebuffed.
The Government of Guyana wishes to sincerely thank and proudly salute everyone who has worked over the past 100 years in plants, mines and offices around the bauxite operations. We also express the nation’s profound gratitude to the workers who are currently striving to keep this industry afloat.

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