The Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc (BCGI), in which Russian bauxite giant RUSAL has majority shareholding, has completed the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for its new project at Kurubuka which could see the development of two open pit mines.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now inviting the public to comment on it before a decision is made on whether to grant or deny an environmental permit.
According to the EPA, the public has a total of 60 days of the publication of the notice by which to make written submissions on the project. The notice appeared in the press on December 22. The new project comprises the development of two open pit mines at Kurubuka 22 (Kurubuka East and Kurubuka West). The Kurubuka 22 deposit is located immediately adjacent to the Berbice River and approximately 14.5 KM from the former Aroaima’s crushing and drying facilities.
The Russian aluminium conglomerate RUSAL made an initial investment of US$20M in the bauxite operations in Berbice which it commenced in 2005.
According to documents lodged with the EPA, BCGI has identified its investment to be US$18.6M with a projected annual turnover of US$60.8M. The project is envisaged to produce three million metric tonnes of bauxite annually at 10,000 tonnes per day. The projected life of the project is twenty years – from 2008 to 2028.
The project is expected to create employment for approximately 75 persons, 20 during the mobilization phase, and 55 in the subsequent operation phase. “On a wider scale, the project is expected to bring economic and social benefits to the immediate and surrounding communities of Hururu, Kwakwani, Aroaima, Ituni and Linden by creating direct employment opportunities as well as social benefits,” the EIA said.
It said too that the project is expected to utilize state-of-the-art machinery and equipment which will be sourced internationally and as part of the project implementation, training will be done for local staff to ensure technology transfer.
The EIA report, done by Environmental Management Consultants, said that gaseous emissions from vehicle exhausts and the power plant are unlikely to be a problem. It said too that generation of dust from road transportation on the haulage route may create some nuisance to some residents who extract timber or hunt near the project area and this, it said, will require management. The EIA said that dust and odour are unlikely to be a problem.
According to the EIA, the Scoping Study was completed in June 2006 and the findings are based upon information available at the time of the study and that subsequent investigations during the EIA have allowed refinement of these findings.
Biodiversity
On ecology and conservation of the site, the EIA said that 22 Kurubuka is situated in a degraded landscape, comprising former timber extractions and secondary forest, and loss of the area is unlikely to be a problem.
The EIA said that clearance of virgin climax forest will be required in some parts of the mining areas and along much of the haulage route. “The ecological and conservation value of the forest is yet to be determined and the loss of habitat will affect biodiversity,” the study said.
The EIA team also found that the area appears to host many fauna and avian species, which will be displaced or destroyed. “Although the forest will naturally re-vegetate, it is doubtful if the secondary forest will ever possess the ecological value of the existing primary forest,” the study said. On the socio-economic and cultural impacts, the project will provide a continuous feed to the bauxite plant at Everton and Aroaima allowing production to continue. New employment opportunities for exploration workers and contractors will be created during exploration, construction and closure phases.
According to the executive summary of the EIA report, the East Kurubuka bauxite layer lies approximately 57.8 m below the surface and the West is approximately 38.1 m below the surface.
Describing the operation, the executive summary said that the topsoil will be removed by bulldozers and adequately stored for rehabilitation. The overburden will be stripped with excavators and loaded to haul trucks for disposal at the waste dump.
Once the overburden is removed, the bauxite will be mined by excavators and transported by haul trucks to the crushing plant and subsequent drying facilities. After drying, the bauxite will be loaded to barges for transportation to the trans-shipping point in Berbice River where it will be transferred to ocean going vessels.
Back in December 2004, the Government of Guyana and the former Aroaima Mining Company (AMC) entered into agreement with the subsidiaries of RUSAL, Bauxite and Alumina Mining Venture (BAMV) and the BCGI for the new company’s shareholdings and a management contract for AMC.
RUSAL is exploring the development of an alumina plant in Linden, but this process will take years and substantial investment and a decision will not be known until completion of these studies. If the alumina venture were to be undertaken, it would represent an investment of US$1 billion or $200 billion. Rivalling the bauxite development in the Berbice area is Omai Bauxite Mining Inc (OBMI), which is in operation in Region Ten. At the moment, majority shareholding in OBMI is in the process of being sold to Chinese company Bosai Minerals Group Inc for a total of US$46M.
Cambior’s stake in this company was recently purchased by IAMGOLD. Cambior had bought its 70% stake in the Linden bauxite operations for US$10M – US$5M in cash and US$5M in equipment. Cambior had projected its venture as a US$40M investment when OBMI was launched in December 2004. That company produces Refractory ‘A’ Super-calcined (RASC) bauxite as against BCGI which produces metallurgical bauxite.
When RUSAL and Cambior made their investments in Guyana, the industry for years had been suffering from high overburden costs, poor management, unreliability, falling international prices. The industry has over the years become a drain on the treasury with annual transfers being made to keep it going. (Johann Earle)
