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Prime Minister Bruce Golding gave an assurance today(Feb 12) that although the Bauxite Industry was under severe stress, its future was not in danger and it must prepare and position itself to rebound with renewed energy. Mr. Golding said that despite the dark clouds of the bauxite industry that now engulfed the country, there was a silver lining. "The industry...

Jamaica will host the Fifteenth International Bauxite and Alumina Seminar, at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, in Montego Bay, St. James, from February 11 to 13. This high level meeting is considered a premier business event on the international mining agenda. Prime Minister Bruce Golding is expected to address the meeting, as well as the Minister of State in the Ministry...

Senior Director of Policy Planning and Development in the Ministry of Mining and Telecommunications, Oral Rainford, is calling upon persons in the mining sector to prepare to benefit when a rebound takes place by 2010. "The mining sector is expected to rebound by 2010, so the time is opportune to get ready to reap the benefits and be in the...

Prime Minister Bruce Golding, has established a task force to monitor developments in the bauxite industry. He has also given his complete assurance that the Government would exert all efforts to protect the bauxite industry and the jobs of the workers. Mr. Golding gave the assurance when he met with union heads and delegates of the bauxite industry at Jamaica...

The Government is to establish a task force, comprised of bauxite/alumina industry stakeholders and the Opposition, to monitor developments in the industry. The Office of the Prime Minister(OPM) said last night that Prime Minister Bruce Golding made the announcement at a meeting with the stakeholders at Jamaica House. OPM also stated that Mr. Golding gave "complete assurance" that the Government...

A recommendation for the convening of public consultations to discuss issues pertaining to the exploration for bauxite in the Cockpit Country is being proposed by consultants, who were commissioned to do a study on the area in January 2007. The need for the study, arose out of concerns expressed by several non-governmental environmental organisations and citizens, regarding an application by...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Mining and Telecommunications, Laurence Broderick, is projecting that the bauxite sector should return to profitability within three years. He noted that with the current downturn in demand on the world market for metals and in particular aluminium, Jamaica's bauxite sector was now in a "survival mode." He noted however that the decline should...

Prime Minister Bruce Golding, has said that the administration is engaging local bauxite and alumina companies, and the unions representing the sector's workers, to avoid closure of the plants, which would result in the loss of hundreds of jobs. In a national broadcast on December 14, the Prime Minister noted that the global bauxite/alumina industry is in a "precarious" position,...

The series of island wide consultations on the draft National Minerals Policy, organised by the Ministry of Mining and Telecommunications, were successful in increasing public awareness of some of the serious issues relating to minerals development in the country. "There are some serious issues relating to minerals development in the country and the series of public consultations assisted us in...

Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, has informed that the Government is currently in negotiations with Swiss metals and minerals trading company, Glencore, regarding the financial obligations that were entered into with that company in 2005, by the previous administration. "We are in negotiations now and we are trying to see if we can get out of it (the previous agreement), if...

Since the Government came into power the Ministry of Mining and Telecommunications has, among other things, been focussing on the formation of new legislations and repositioning the local mining industry. To this end the Telecommunications Policy is being refined, and the process to revise the Telecommunications Act, will follow the finalisation of the new Telecommunications Policy. The new Telecommunications Policy...

Some 600 persons from bauxite mining communities islandwide are to be trained under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed yesterday (August 26) between the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) and the Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL). This was disclosed by Executive Director of JFLL, Edward Shakes at a JIS Think Tank session today (August 27). "We have signed an MoU...