Bauxite levy back
THE JAMAICAN Government has reintroduced the bauxite production levy in a new arrangement with Concord Resources Limited, a company headquartered in London that acquired the 49 per cent shares of New Day Aluminium (Jamaica) in July.
Previously, the Government had entered into a profit-sharing agreement with New Day and scrapped the collection of bauxite levy from that company.
It was an approach that drew criticism from the parliamentary Opposition, which at the time, described the arrangement as a “bad deal”.
In 2018, the Government and New Day signed an establishment agreement that averted the closure of the bauxite-mining operations in Discovery Bay, St Ann.
The move saved the jobs of 500 bauxite workers and contractors and led to the creation of Noranda Jamaica Bauxite Partners, which is a joint venture between the Government, which owns 51 per cent, and New Day, the remaining 49 per cent.
In a statement to the Lower House on Wednesday, Minister of Mining and Transport Robert Montague said that the bauxite production levy arrangement was reinstated during negotiations with the Government and Concord Resources Limited.
Concord Resources is a metals trading firm, which focuses on the distribution, supply chain, and risk management of non-ferrous metals and raw materials.
He told his parliamentary colleagues that both parties had agreed to discontinue the profitsharing regime.
Montague disclosed that the asset usage fee debt of US$3.4 million owed to Jamaica Bauxite Mining by New Day would be paid in full by Concord.
“Concord paid half this amount on September 10, 2021. The remaining portion is to be paid by the end of October 2021,” he added.
He said negotiations with Concord were scheduled to resume on October 6 to allow “for the fashioning of an agreement that effectively treats with Concord’s investment in our bauxite industry”.
Opposition Spokesman on Mining Phillip Paulwell said he was happy to see a return to the bauxite production levy.
He said the levy served to provide some means of rehabilitation or reinvesting in communities where the ore was mined.
Paulwell wanted to know how much profit from the previous arrangement with New Day the Jamaican Government pulled in.