Despite an assurance by BOSAI Minerals Group Guyana Inc. (BMGG) in August that at least one kiln would  be in operation continuously, this is not the case for several weeks now as the kilns remain smokeless again.

Following a shutdown of the two working kilns back in June, General Manager Steven Ma had said in August that one kiln would  resume operation.

Last Monday, this newspaper contacted the general manager to ascertain if the company is still on track to meet its revised target of 200,000 tonnes of mostly refractory grade bauxite, down from its earlier target of 280,000, in light of the smokeless kilns.

Ma requested that questions concerning the company be e-mailed to him or faxed. Consequently, five questions were e-mailed to Ma, but this newspaper has received no response to date.

Among the questions, this newspaper asked whether the company would still meet its revised target of 200,000 tonnes; when was the last shipment of bauxite and when is the company’s next shipment; whether there have been improvements in the market; the current bauxite prices compared to last year and an update on BMGG’s plans to build a US$1B aluminum refinery.

The US$1B planned investment was earmarked for one million tonnes of alumina production and then 500,000 tonnes of aluminum production. In August the company had explained that the kilns were shut down owing to low bauxite demand.

This year the company let go of over 100 employees but up to August it had almost 550 workers.

On October 5 it was reported that Rio Tinto was planning on selling its 80% stake in Ghana’s only bauxite mine Awao to the Chinese-owned BMGG, parent company of BOSAI Minerals Group Inc.

Rio Tinto had planned to develop an integrated alumina refinery which would have been fed by the Awao mine, but those plans were shelved due to poor local infrastructure and lower global demand for minerals.

It was reported that the Ghanaian mine produced 637,000 tonnes of the aluminum raw material. The sale, which is expected to be completed by this yearend, is subject to approval by Ghana’s parliament. BMGG exports mostly refractory grade bauxite to Asia, Europe, and North America.

In April 2007, the Chinese-owned BOSAI began operating after striking a US$46M deal with previous owners of Omai Bauixite Inc., Canadian-based Iamgold, for its 70% stake. The government owns 30% of the company while the Chinese own 70%.