Anthony R. D. Porter, Contributor
As most readers should know by now, the object of any mineral exploration programme - be it for bauxite, gypsum, or some other substance - is to ascertain its quality (or grade) and its economically extractable and treatable tonnage.
By the early 1950s, when British Aluminium Company Limited (BACL) commenced prospecting operations in Jamaica, many of the large bauxite-bearing properties in western St. Ann and eastern Trelawny (extending from Claremont through to Clark's Town) had already been acquired by Kaiser and Reynolds. Some estates, such as Stonehenge, were also under option to Kaiser, but others such as Windsor, Fontabelle, and Pantrepant were privately owned.
With little room to manoeuvre, BACL set about obtaining the rights to explore the Windsor property which it did in three stages: 1) taking surface samples, 2) scout drilling (i.e. reconnaissance drill holes), and 3) systematic grid drilling (at 100 ft centers) on at least four of the most northerly deposits or glades (unforested open spaces). The tonnage and grade (i.e. the total alumina and silica content) of these deposits were ascertained.
The rugged karst limestone extending some 10 or so miles to the south (i.e. the Cockpit Country) was reported to consist of "small crater-like glades with insignificant accumulations of fair grade terra rossa, too small and too remote to be considered a mining proposition" (G.A. Daniel, February 1955, BACL report).
Several years later, the Aluminium Company of America (Alcoa) entered the picture and joined the other major players (Kaiser, Reynolds and Alcan) in their quest to find economic reserves of bauxite in Jamaica. By the beginning of the 1970s, Alcoa had obtained licences to explore in several parishes, including the bauxite-bearing region over the southern half of Trelawny parish. (See the Government of Jamaica's Department of Mines Annual Reports for that period, and various JIS "Facts on Jamaica" brochures.) So, up to that time, there were at least three exploration campaigns for bauxite in Trelawny.
Bauxite prospecting
The fourth bauxite prospecting programme in Trelawny that I am aware of commenced in 1989, when the Government of Jamaica and Alcan Aluminium Ltd., entered into an agreement to conduct a "Feasibility study on the establishment of an alumina refinery on Jamaica's North Coast" (Daily Gleaner, Thursday December 14, 1989, Page 3).
Many exploration holes were drilled manually (so as to avoid damage to any crops and property) by crews employed by the Jamaica Bauxite Institute, and numerous samples analysed by Alcan. Using manual methods, holes can be drilled to a depth of about 45 ft, but beyond that, it becomes more difficult and time consuming to lift out the rods. There are, however, portable machines that can now do the same thing and, unless someone gets careless, this type of works poses no more threat to the environment than those farming the land.
Although the project never got off the ground, much new information was generated on the quality and quantity of bauxite in the parish of Trelawny. This information is now more than 10 years old and its period of confidentiality has, I believe, expired. If so, and Jamalco has had a chance to review this and the earlier data, then the results must have been sufficiently encouraging to warrant further work.
Workable compromise
Two of the questions that always come up are: 1) Why does Jamalco have an interest in exploring for bauxite in Trelawny when its existing alumina refinery at Halse Hall in Clarendon is located so far away? And, 2) Is there a plan to pick-up where Alcan left off and construct a refinery on the north side?
In 2004, the Government of Jamaica and Alcoa announced that the alumina plant at Halse Hall was to undergo a major expansion in effect doubling its refining capacity. Such a venture requires a doubling of reserves and this may well be the answer to question 1. But, "I don't know" is the most honest answer that I can give (at this time) to question 2.
Here is a possible solution to the deadlock.
Having worked in the bauxite industry for many years, I have a vested interest in not seeing it go under. It would be an economic blow of seismic proportions. On the other hand, the Cockpit Country Stakeholders' Group (CCSG) and other support groups have a vested interest in ensuring that the environmental integrity of the Cockpit Country (CC) is maintained.
One of the major issues, therefore, that needs to be resolved is what exactly constitutes the limits of the CC.
From a geological standpoint, I would argue that the CCSG limits extend too far south and, to ensure the continued viability of the bauxite industry, their line should be shifted westwards to at least the 350,000 Easting Jamaica False Coordinate (which roughly corresponds to a NS line from Clarks Town through Barbecue Bottom to near Albert Town). This to my mind is a workable compromise.
The rugged, deeply-eroded karst landscape west of this line is composed of dolomitic limestone and dolomite (called the Troy Formation) and this member of the White Limestone Group, in my experience, plays host mainly to low-grade bauxite, aluminous - laterite and clay.
Anthony Porter is a former chief geologist at Alcan Jamaica Company.
