Bauxite Production On Track For Another Record Year

Bauxite production continues its strong growth trend with estimates by the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) indicating that total bauxite production is on track for another record year.
Provisional year-to-date figures for the first half of the year showed that total bauxite production increased by 5.2 per cent to 6.6 million tones, compared with the corresponding period last year.
Alumina output, which accounts for 90 per cent of export earnings from the sector, reached 1.8 million tonnes, a 7.86 per cent increase over the production level achieved in the first half of 2002.
The JBI notes that prices of aluminium and alumina are recovering after a downturn, which was associated with weakness in the international marketplace.
Last year the industry achieved total bauxite output of 13.1 million tonnes, the highest level in 28 years.
The strong growth in bauxite and alumina production was a main contributor to the three per cent growth in gross domestic product (GDP), which was experienced in the April to June quarter of this year.
Alumina production amounted to 639,900 tonnes in the period April to May, while crude bauxite production recorded 692,700 tonnes, representing increases of 9.1 per cent and 23.6 per cent, respectively, compared with the corresponding period last year.