Jamaica Bauxite Mining Limited Celebrates 50 Years

The Jamaica Bauxite Mining (JBM) Limited is celebrating 50 years of existence by bringing into sharp focus the contributions of an entity that has transcended its mineral-rich mining history.

In 1869, J.G. Sawkins, a British geologist, made the earliest report of alumina-bearing soils in Jamaica.

But it was not until almost 80 years after, that bauxite’s potential was realised.

Managing Director of the JBM, Donna Marie Howe, says the theme for the half a century milestone celebration is ‘Navigating New Waters, Sustaining our Assets’.

“It encompasses where we are and where we’re going for our future. We have two ports that we run and the structure of the JBM is that we hold the 51 per cent government interest of Noranda, which is Discovery Bauxite site partners over in St. Ann. We’re a mature mining business and our assets are our value,” she said.

“Our assets are in the ports and our people and we’re investing in those assets to launch new segments of our business and operations. We also own lands that were formerly bauxite lands and we’re going to reclaim most of those lands and branch off into other segments, whether that’s an Agro park [or] building a logistics hub. So, there’s a whole leap in the direction of diversification,” the Managing Director added.

Much of the major developments within Jamaica’s Bauxite sector were shaped in St. Ann with the construction of the necessary mining, drying, and service facilities, culminating in the completion of the deep-water pier at Ocho Rios in 1952.

By the end of 1952, the first large-scale mining operations in Jamaica’s history commenced, and the first shipload of bauxite left for processing. Annual shipments of bauxite reached one million tons by 1956.

Mrs. Howe, who was speaking in a recent interview with JIS News, says the use of underutilised assets and resources and converting them into productive agents, will result in the development of St. Ann.

“For the last 40 years, we’ve been based in St. Ann. The other part of it now is that we own the Reynolds Pier in Ocho Rios. That port is where the other bauxite activity was undertaken, which hasn’t been used for bauxite purposes for the last 40 years. This segment of the JBM is where the diversification portfolio has arisen, and that is the main thrust under my leadership for the last three years,” she said.

So far, activities for the 50TH Anniversary celebrations have included the Thanksgiving Service and Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony at Reynolds Pier, to showcase beautification works.

The JBM also aims to have a Grand Opening of the Mining Museum on JBM lands this year, which will showcase the legacy of the entity and the mining industry as a whole.

These activities will centre around the four pillars the entity has built their work on – port management and operation, which involves the Reynolds Pier; commercial property, through their real estate and Industrial Park; Land Management, and partnership with Discovery Bay.

“All of the crude vessels are coming to Ocho Rios through our Port Reynolds Pier. There is a loss of earnings and income because two ships aren’t coming to Ocho Rios on the same day, but every day since, more or less, the 15th of November, we’ve hosted cruise vessels. Because it’s an industrial port, we have spent money renovating and maintaining it. We’ve done beautification work to appeal to tourists and we want to do the unveiling of that,” Mrs. Howe said.

Activities continue with the launch of the industrial park in the coming month and the unveiling of the renovated plant in Lydford, St. Ann.

“It is because we haven’t done bauxite in about 40 years, that all of that area was dilapidated and rundown. In the last three years, we have renovated what used to be an old plant and we turned it into warehouses in Lydford. For the industrial park, we’ve got the directory up and we’ve just done a whole renovation of it in 2024. We want to launch that as well, cutting the ribbon of that directory, so it will be opening in March,” Mrs. Howe said.

The JBM has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Agro-Investment Corporation, to drive agricultural development and investment in Jamaica by converting former bauxite mining lands into an innovative agricultural hub.

“We’re going to showcase the massive buildout that we’re doing. So, it will be a soft launch, showcasing 300,000 square feet of rentable space. The celebration of the 50th will be a year-long event and we feel that these ceremonial tributes or tokens show some of our pillars and the way we’re navigating new waters and sustaining our assets,” the Managing Director said.

Founded in 1975, the JBM has remained committed to working with farmers, communities, and policymakers to develop initiatives that promote sustainable practices, economic growth, and social well-being.