Environmental permit sought for bauxite project in Berbice River

The Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc (BCGI) has submitted an application for an environmental authorisation for the extraction of bauxite from approximately 3,400 acres of land on the East Bank of the Berbice River near Hururu Village.

The company is making an investment of US$18.6M with a projected annual turnover of US$60.8M. It is envisaged to produce three million metric tonnes annually at the rate of 10,000 tonnes per day. The project will have a life of 20 years.

The bauxite will be loaded onto trucks and transported to Kwakwani where the bauxite will be taken by barge to Aroaima thereafter for export.

The notice in Wednesday’s Guyana Chronicle described the area where the mining is to take place as Deposit 22 Kurubuka situated in the Kwakwani area, 140 kilometres southwest of New Amsterdam, Berbice. The location is situated on the right bank of the Berbice River within the Hururu Amerindian Reservation.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that the project would need to have an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) done before any decision is made, since this development may have significant impacts on the environment. The EPA said members of the public are invited within 28 days of the notice to make written submissions to the agency, setting out those questions and matters that they would require to be answered or considered in the EIA.

The project summary said a mine plan and project operation plan have been prepared for the Deposit 22 Kurubuka which is estimated at 38 million tonnes of bauxite. The geological exploration has been completed though the site-layout, mine planning, site-clearing are yet to be done.

During the mobilisation phase also the company would be mobilising its equipment and machinery, constructing its site office, mechanical workshop and fuel bond and construction of additional haulage roads.

According to the summary, the project is expected to create employment for approximately 75 persons; 20 during the mobilisation phase and 55 in the subsequent operational phase. Also the project is expected to bring economic and social benefits to the immediate and surrounding communities of Hururu, Kwakwani, Aroaima, Ituni and Linden by creating direct employment opportunities and social benefits.

The company said the technological benefits would be the state of the art machinery and equipment which will be sourced internationally. And as part of the implementation, training will be done for local staff to ensure technology transfer.

Within the project area there are no settlements or residents, the summary said. According to the company, the nearest settlement of Hururu is approximately eight to ten miles away from the project area.

In justifying the investment, the company said that over the past years the demand for metallurgical grade bauxite has increased significantly owing to the high demand for aluminium. “This global demand has been met nationally with sluggish production and delivery by suppliers. A contributing factor is the absence of investments to consolidate and expand production,” the company said.

According to the company, it conducted a feasibility study on the current demand and found that an opportunity for investment existed. The study indicated that with a project of the appropriate scale of production and efficient management, Guyana could become competitive in the metallurgical bauxite market. Based on this, BCGI conceptualised the project to meet the current market demands, meet the expanded overseas market demands and ensure that there is a continuous supply of metallurgical grade bauxite.

The company has prepared an Environmental Management Plan as required by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) for the granting of a mining licence. BCGI has engaged Environmental Management Consultants to conduct its EIA in accordance with the EPA’s established guidelines for the conduct of mining EIAs and international best practices.

The company was registered on November 19, 2005 and is a subsidiary of the RUSAL Group, the third largest aluminium company in the world. As of April 1, 2006, BCGI effectively took over the operations of Aroaima Mining Company through a privatisation arrangement. (Johann Earle)