New offices of the JBI.
THE COMMERCIAL production of aluminium began only in the last decade of the nineteenth century, although the existence of the metal in certain kinds of ores was known by scientists from the beginning of that century. However, until World War II greatly increased the demand for aluminium, little attention was paid to the deposits of bauxite outside Europe and the United States of America, including Jamaica, where geologists had noted the "red ferruginous earth" as far back as 1869, without recognising its significance.
Between 1938 and 1942, a Jamaican businessman named Sir Alfred D'Costa had soil tests done with a view to improving the fertility of his farm at Lydford, St. Ann. On analysis, the soil proved to be highly aluminous. Through the efforts of Sir Alfred and the colonial authorities (Jamaica then being a part of the British Empire), this fact was brought to the attention of aluminium producers in the allied countries. The mineral was vested in the Crown in the expectation that it might be needed for the war effort.
Jamaican bauxite was not used during the war, but three North American companies (Alcan, Kaiser, and Reynolds) came to the island to survey, acquire reserve lands, and set up operations over the next few years. Reynolds began exporting bauxite from Ocho Rios in June 1952, and Kaiser followed a year later from Port Kaiser on the south coast. Alcan built a processing plant near its mines at Kirkvine, Manchester, and in early 1952 began shipping alumina, the intermediate product between the ore and the metal, from Port Esquivel. Thus did the industry begin in Jamaica.
JAMAICA'S BAUXITE RESOURCES
Jamaica's bauxite occurs in a series of deposits across the middle of the island, east to west. The largest deposits are in the parishes of St. Ann, Manchester, St. Elizabeth, and Trelawny, with smaller deposits in Clarendon and St. Catherine. The ore is found in the highlands, from about 1,200 feet above sea level, and lies in the pockets and bowls of the limestone, which forms two-thirds of the island's bedrock. Proven reserves presently exceed 2,500 million (metric) tonnes of bauxite, while processable reserves may amount to 1,500 million tonnes.
Most of Jamaica's bauxite is red or reddish-brown, a peculiarity, which indicates the occurrence of iron mineral in the ore. There is no overburden covering the bauxite, as is the case in many other countries. The ore lies on the surface and is relatively easy to mine. The mining laws of Jamaica requires the mining companies to strip and stack a minimum of six inches of soil for re-spreading after a deposit has been mined and reclaimed.
