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Acting Commissioner of Mines, Clinton Thompson, has said the fines for non-compliance with mining regulations have been upped to encourage compliance among mining companies. According to Mr. Thompson, this comes in response to complaints from communities that, "there are unsightly pits that remain year after year and not addressed". Speaking to JIS News today (November 15), at a Jamaica Bauxite...

The Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI), during 2005/2006 fiscal year, continued work aimed at protecting bauxite lands and reserves, including a submission to Cabinet for the establishment of the Bauxite Land Management Committee, to provide for the effective management of bauxite-bearing lands. As contained in the Institute's annual report for this period, the submission proposed that the legal authority of the...

During the 2005/06 fiscal year, a number of rural communities received significant benefits under the Bauxite Community Development Programme (BCDP), which has to date, disbursed approximately $230 million for projects in mining communities. As contained in the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) report for the period, the projects implemented included the Essex Valley Agricultural Project, the Ewarton and Comfort/Webbers Sweet Potato...

The bauxite/alumina industry has made a quantum leap in safety over the last 25 years, with recorded injuries taking a nosedive from 8,000 in 1974 to fewer than 500 since 1982. "This current level of success can be attributed to the commitment of the companies' management, Government, the workers and generally all the stakeholders in the industry," says Executive Director...

Bauxite and alumina operations have been blamed for rising waters in some communities in recent times, but at least one expert in this area, has sought to dispel this view. Basil Fernandez, Managing Director of the Water Resources Authority (WRA), tells JIS News, that the first recorded case of rising water occurred 142 years before bauxite operations even started in...

St. Ann Jamaica Bauxite Partners has donated a sum of $100,000 to support a rodent control programme, which is now underway in the Discovery Bay area. The programme, which is being carried out by the St. Ann Health Department, is aimed at stemming the level of rat infestation as well as reducing the risk of disease transmission, particularly leptospirosis. "When...

President of Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Patricia Francis has said that as the mining and quarrying sector continued to grow, emphasis must also be placed on improving business and operating practices. "Operators must focus on improvement of overall management of their quarries as well as the impact of their operations on the environment. We recognize that technical assistance is needed...

Residents of Summerfield in Clarendon are now better equipped to manage quarry activities within their community having benefited from an education session hosted by the Mines and Geology Division (MGD) yesterday (Nov.18) in the community. The session was part of a series of public awareness meetings being undertaken in communities near the Rio Minho in Clarendon and the Yallahs River...

Minister of Local Government, Community Development and Sport, Portia Simpson-Miller and a delegation left the island on October 23 for a five-day study tour of the local government system in four provinces in Canada. The tour is the initiative of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and is intended to provide the participants with an understanding of how the municipal...

Upgrading of environmental practices and measures taken over the past four years by the Mining and Quarrying Association of Jamaica, along with the Ministry of land and Environment, specifically the Mines and Geology Division, were very helpful in minimizing damage caused by Hurricane Ivan. "The measures included keeping drainage clear, establishing proper terraces, maintaining clear river channels and removing excess...

The Mines and Geology Division of the Ministry of Land and Environment will officially launch its newly redesigned website on Wednesday, August 20 at 10.30 a.m. at the division's Conference Room, Hope Gardens. The Division has the statutory responsibility under the Mining and the Quarries Control Acts to exercise general supervision over all prospecting, mining and quarrying operations throughout the...

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,...