Diversification of minerals sector high on agenda of mining ministry
THE MINING division of the Ministry of Transport and Mining is placing greater focus on the diversification of the minerals sector.
At the recent 24th Bauxite and Alumina Conference, principal direc tor, M inerals Polic y Planning and Development Division in the ministry, Dr Oral Rainford, said that the development of industrial minerals has been placed on the division’s agenda.
“To a large extent, the minerals sector here is focused on bauxite and alumina. We now need to truly develop the limestone industry and related operations,” he said, noting that in excess of 70 per cent of the surface geology of the country is limestone.
“We have not yet started to fully utilise the limestone, and if we are able to integrate that industry into the economy, then we will begin to produce quite a number of products which will have significant value and will find wide use in many different areas.”
He pointed out that there are other naturally occurring minerals such as sand and gravel, skid-resistant aggregates from hard volcanic rocks, gypsum, shale and pozzolan, or aluminium silicate.
Dr Rainford explained that pozzolan is a volcanic material that is now used exclusively in the manufacturing of cement.
ELIMINATE IMPORTATION
He pointed out that in the process it replaces klinker, which would no longer have to be impor ted, and that in eliminating the importation of klinker, production costs have gone down.
“This is a material that we have here i n Jamaica, so having uncovered the pozzolan, we are manufacturing everything that we need, and now we’re able to export cement and cement-related materials,” he said.