Always on my mind

Lance Neita, Contributor

JAMAICA'S HUGE cricket victory at Alpart last weekend generated a feel-good spirit among the neighbouring communities that have been waiting for any bit of good news to emanate from that company.

The sound of bat and ball was not the accustomed sound of the powerhouse charging or the digestion, clarification, precipitation and calcination areas going into restart mode. That would have been music to the ears of the thousands of south central Jamaicans who are waiting hopefully to hear the joyful news of a restart of the alumina plant.

The packed stands, however, and the shouts of reunion from former co-workers meeting for the first time since April 2009 on familiar grounds, brought a little euphoria to the otherwise dismal picture presented by the alumina giant lying idle and stilled on the bed of the Essex Valley for over one year.

As they sat in the stands recalling experiences and reliving memories of happier days when Alpart was the centre of economic and social lifestyle for the region, the question was on a thousand minds and lips, "When will Alpart reopen?"

Entire country affected

It is not only the people, but the country that is feeling the pinch. At the height of its operations, Alpart was pumping US$378 million into the economy annually, and was one of the largest single contributors of foreign exchange to the government of Jamaica.

The industry may have dipped slightly below the national periscope as a consequence of the recession, but for those who came in late, this is an industry that has powered Jamaica for more than 70 years.

At one stage in the 1950s, Jamaica was the largest producer of bauxite in the world, replacing Suriname as the world's leading producer of bauxite in 1957, and attracting the undivided attention of governments and mega producers such as Kaiser, Alcan, Reynolds and Alcoa.

The year 1953 was an active one for bauxite-alumina activities in Jamaica. Early in that year, on January 7, Alumina Jamaica Ltd (later known as Alcan) made its first alumina shipment, 2,300 tons, 'packed in stout paper bags', on the SS Trident, from Railroad Pier No. 3 in Kingston. A far cry from the awesome mining, processing and shipping complex which was to be developed at Kirkvine, Ewarton, and Port Esquivel.

Reynolds had already shipped its - and Jamaica's - first bauxite cargo on June 5, 1952 and dedicated its plant and shipping pier in St Ann on January 9, 1953. The Reynolds shipment was hailed in the press with banner headlines, 'Red gold going for first time'.

Kaiser's first shipment on February 9, 1953 signalled the start of an economic venture that was to last 50 years.

Surge of expansion

The decade of the 1960s saw a surge of expansion with affiliates of two of the companies operating in Jamaica, Kaiser and Reynolds, forming a consortium with Anaconda to build the formidable Alumina Partners of Jamaica (Alpart) in St Elizabeth in 1969. By then, Kaiser Bauxite had transferred its St Elizabeth operations to St Ann in 1967.

Another alumina company, Revere, was constructed at Maggotty in St Elizabeth and commenced operations in 1971, closing a mere two years later consequent to the oil crisis experienced in 1973.

Since then, the cyclical nature of the global industry - bauxite-alumina-aluminium - has taken its toll, with the pioneering companies Reynolds, Alcan and Kaiser departing in the wake of extreme economic difficulties.

The biggest shocks came with the recession of 2008-09 when Windalco (which had taken the place of Alcan) and Alpart closed doors. The brightest spot has been the 'leap of faith' taken by Noranda Aluminum when they invested in the struggling bauxite operations of St Ann in September 2009 and returned that company to its original production, and more in 2010. It was a step that signalled hope and the revival of the industry at a time when we had dipped to an all time low.

Since then, Windalco Ewarton has returned to production (June 2010) and our understanding is for an August start-up, at latest, for the Windalco Kirkvine plant in Manchester.

Hopefully, good days are ahead for Manchester.

Now, what's the good news for Alpart? We are not hearing much from the powers that be, but if they were at the match last week, they would know what is uppermost on everyone's minds.

Comments to columns@gleanerjm.com or lanceneita@hotline.com.