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Mineral Resources
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 What is the general situation
with these ISSUES?
- Jamaica has long relied on bauxite as the mainstay of its mineral
sector. The National Industrial Policy proposes the development
of other minerals for export, providing adequate environmental
standards are followed. The environmental cleanups in the USA
for example have created a significant demand for limestone which
Jamaica has the potential to fulfill.
- While bauxite has contributed significantly to the country’s
economy, mining and processing of the ore as well as port operations
and the actual mining have not been without environmental challenges.
These challenges include dust and noise pollution, the relocation
of communities, loss of biodiversity and the reduction of forest
cover. Red mud production and management has required a significant
investement in pollution control systems. Roof damage associated
with sulfur-dioxide emissions have let to complex compensation
arrangements with several communities in the bauxite areas.
- Four of the five Bauxite processing plants produce alumina,
each ton of which gives rise to approximately one ton of caustic
red mud residues. Red mud disposal in unlined pits resulted in
seepage of the caustic solution into the groundwater. This has
not been practiced since 1976. A number of environmentally friendlier
dry mud disposal techniques are being used. They produced a waste
with a much lower amount of liquid and dispose of this material
in sealed beds where the effluent released is treated or recirculated
into the processing system.
- Major bauxite reserves are located in the Cockpit Country, one
of the most pristine ecosystems of the country and a refuge of
several of our most endangered species.
- Considerable information exists on the occurrence of base metals
e.g. gold, silver and copper in the country and additional research
is being carried out to estimate the economic value of these deposits.
Several of the potential deposits are in pristine areas. One gold
mining proposal is under active consideration
- Although sandmining can be carried out with little or no permanent
damage to the environment, it continues to be major a source of
problems, in part because few people ever question where the sand
they are using, comes from. In the meanwhile, illegal sandmining
operations continue convert hundreds of acres of fertile agriculture
land into ruinate landscapes, leaving the society to bear the
cost of restoration and rehabilitation. Some illegal sandmining
operation caused river and beach erosion, endangering bridges
and other civil structures.
- As glass bottles are increasingly replaced by plastic bottles,
the demand for silica sand which is used in the manufacturing
of glass is expected to continue to decline. Silica sand is only
mined in the Black River area, one of the more important ecosystems
in the country.
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