Construction starts for Bonasika bauxite project
-over 200 to be employed
First Bauxite Corporation (FBX) has begun construction of the Bonasika Bauxite Project under its subsidiary Guyana Industrial Minerals Inc.
The Department of Public Information (DPI) yesterday said that the Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman and Junior Minister Simona Broomes along with President and CEO of the First Bauxite Corporation Alan Roughead announced the project’s start yesterday at the Marriott Hotel, Kingston. Roughead said that construction has started at the project’s site.
Bonasika is located on the right bank of the Essequibo River, 10 miles above Parika.
“It will involve the expenditure of 40-50M USD and upon completion, we will employ 250 people of which 95 percent will be Guyanese national,” Roughead said. The construction is expected to last some 18 months.
According to DPI, construction includes the development of the mine site, processing plant and supplementary facilities.
Trotman said the company’s investment in the country is appreciated. “We wish you well, the government of Guyana truly congratulates all of you for your vision and for your stick-to-it-iveness … to this project,” he Trotman said.
Boasting of the mineral’s high quality, Broomes said “the bauxite that will be mined at Bonasika is one of the best in the world and it is here in Guyana. Research has proved, I was advised yesterday, that this mineral found here is nowhere else in the world.”
First Bauxite started feasibility work on the Bonasika Project in 2008. It also conducted two major production trials in 2015. Production at Bonasika is scheduled to start at the end of next year.