The Government has sold its seven per cent share in West Indies Alumina Company Limited (Windalco) to Russian aluminium giant, United Company Rusal Alumina Jamaica Limited (UC Rusal). Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining (STEM), Hon. Phillip Paulwell, who made the announcement in a statement to the House of Representatives, on Tuesday, June 10, said Jamaica will save approximately...

The Government is collaborating on a project with Noranda Jamaica Bauxite Partners, to demonstrate the viability of the biofuels industry, using mined out bauxite lands to grow oil-producing crops. Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, says the objective is to extract the oils from seeds, such as castor and palm, for the emerging biofuels market in...

Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, has announced that the bauxite and alumina company, Alpart, in Nain, St. Elizabeth, should resume operations in the first quarter of 2016, following completion of the refinery’s new energy infrastructure. The re-opening will come some seven years after production ceased at the plant, due to a decline in the global...

Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, is to report on an energy solution to facilitate the re-opening of the Alpart and Kirkvine bauxite plants, when he speaks in the 2013/14 Sectoral Debate. The Government has been engaged in months of intense negotiations with Russian-based aluminium company, UC Rusal, for the resumption of operations at the facilities,...

The Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nippon Light Metal of Japan, for the establishment of a pilot project to extract earth elements from red mud. This was disclosed by Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, in the House of Representatives on January 15. Mr. Paulwell, who noted that the...

Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, says he is confident that the Alpart bauxite and alumina plant at Nain, in St Elizabeth, will re-open soon, as discussions with U C Rusal, the majority share- holders and operators of the plant, are going well. Addressing a Rural Electrification Programme (REP) lighting ceremony, in Powell Town, Southfield, St....

The Government is defending its decision to grant a one year bauxite levy concession to Russian aluminium producer-UC Rusal, despitegiving up US$7 million in revenue. Responding to questions posed during the Jamaica House press briefing at the Office of the Prime (OPM), Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, said there is no guarantee that the government...

The Government has granted a bauxite levy concession to Russian-based aluminum company UC Rusal, which will ensure, among other things, that the 600 local jobs are maintained at the Ewarton Works refinery in St. Catherine. This was revealed by Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell on Tuesday (October 2) in a statement to Parliament. He informed...

Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Minister, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, says the Government is exploring the possibility of producing aluminium locally. Speaking at Wednesday's (July 25) Jamaica House media briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr. Paulwell said details of the undertaking are expected to be announced by the end of September. Those details, he pointed out, are also...