First Bauxite commissions USD100M Bonasika mine

Guyana Industrial Minerals (GINMIN), a subsidiary of United States-based First Bauxite (FBX), Thursday commissioned its mine and processing plant at Bonasika, Demerara River, in Region Three, and pledged that the US$100 million investment would be a world-class operation. The commissioning of the Bonasika project marks a significant achievement for the company, which began operating here in 2008. “We will gladly admit that we have taken our time to put this mine in operation but as we say today is the day,” FBX Board Chairman Thibault Van Stratum said in brief remarks as he addressed the gathering of workers and special invitees at the commissioning.

When producing at full capacity, the Bonasika Bauxite Project will deliver an annual production of 320,000 metric tonnes of washed bauxite. Tests have shown that the bauxite ore found in the mine is the purest in the world and can be used to develop high level tertiary products for very specialized needs. Van Stratum noted that within the last year the company has been marketing the ore to potential clients and the signals received so far have been encouraging.

“We are very encouraged about the signals we have been getting from the markets,” Van Stratum said, while pointing out that interest is not only coming from the North American market but also Europe and increasingly from Asia. He said not a week goes by without interest, which he believed sets the foundation for an endless amount of opportunity going forward.

The lifespan of the mine is projected to be between 15 and 17 years, although the company has said other operations will further extend the company’s presence in the country to about 25 years. A total of US$387 million is expected to be injected into the local economy within the estimated 15 years of operation.

(Stabroek News)