St. Ann Bauxite to Increase Production, Workers to Resume Full Work Schedule

St. Ann Jamaica Bauxite Partners (SAJBP) employees will resume the full work schedule by December 2009.

Chief Operations Officer at Noranda Intermediate Holding Corporation, Kyle Lorentzen, said that production will be ramped up over the next 90 days, with the aim of achieving an annual rate of 4.2 tonnes.

A total of 3 million tonnes of bauxite are produced annually at the plant located on the north coast.

SAJBP's President, Larry Holley, said the company has the capability for "something around 4.5 million or maybe a little better than that on an annualised basis and we would certainly like to have all of that production moving."

Energy and Mining Minister, James Robertson, indicated that within a year, some 110 shipments should leave the SABL's port in Discovery Bay. "This is a very promising prospect, which means the trains will have to run and the plant will have to run almost at full output," he said.

He also commended the workers for "holding strong" through a difficult period. "What you have been through in this industry and at St. Ann Bauxite was frightening. You saw colleagues, who lost their jobs, and many of you saw your paychecks cut at a time when prices were rising. You had options, you had choices, but you decided that you were going to batten down and weather the storm."

In April of this year the employees at SAJBP had agreed to have their work hours reduced by three days per month, or one and a half days per fortnight, which amounted to a 14 per cent cut in their salaries.

Employees at SAJBP were more than happy to hear the news. Mobile Equipment Training Officer at SAJBP, Reginald Thorpe said “I welcome the move that Noranda has made and I think that as a worker, it will make a positive impact on us as a workforce."

Another employee, Alvin Dennis, praised Noranda for having the confidence in SAJBP. "It is good to know that we have somebody that is still interested in Jamaica and the production of our bauxite and shipments. Definitely, we will not let them down," he stated.

The United States-based Noranda Intermediate Holding Corporation has a 49 per cent stake in SAJBP, having recently acquired the interests of Century Alumina Company. The Jamaica government owns the other 51 per cent.
 

Source: Jamaica Information Service (JIS)