A Canadian company is looking to start mining bauxite here and has applied to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for environmental authorization.
Guyana Industrial Minerals Inc (GINMIN), the local subsidiary of Canada-based, First Bauxite Company (FBX) is looking to start operations at the Waratilla Cartwright Deposits along the banks of the Essequibo River. The EPA in a notice in the Guyana Chronicle on Thursday said the agency has determined that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is not required for the project. It said the application has been screened to assess the potential environmental impacts and it has been determined that the project will not significantly affect the environment once relevant mechanisms are implemented to mitigate possible impacts.
It noted that there are no fragile ecosystems and habitats or endangered species that will be affected by the project.
In this regard, the EPA said, an environmental authorization with specific conditions for environmental management may be granted to the applicants for the implementation of the projects. It added that in keeping with the laws, any person who may be affected by the project may lodge an appeal with the Environmental Assessment Board within 30 days of the publication of the notice.
GINMIN has the exploratory rights to a large percentage of Guyana’s bauxite zone including the Bonasika Mining Licence, covering deposits which were drilled in the 1940s-60s by ALCAN and which host near surface deposits of refractory grade bauxite.
The company’s main venture currently is the Bonasika Mine Project which is aimed at developing and exploiting the bauxite reserves in the three mining leases, Bonasika One, Bonasika Two, and Bonasika Five, located on the east bank of the Essequibo River about eight miles north of Bartica. At the moment, detailed exploration is being done onsite. Bonasika One and Bonasika Two deposits were drilled in detail. Only primary drilling was conducted for the Bonasika Five deposit.
Once all the authorizations are granted the company will proceed to develop the mine. This would include acquiring the necessary equipment, installing the equipment, developing campsite and other auxiliary services and testing of equipment and plants. It is anticipated that commercial operations will commence by early 2012, the company has said.
The company plans to produce 100,000 tonnes of Refractory A Grade Super Calcined (RASC) Bauxite per year. It is currently estimated that the total reserves of the Bonasika deposits is some 2.5 million tonnes of bauxite. The projected combined mine life of the three Bonasika deposits approximates to 8.25 years, with a mining rate of 300,000 tonnes required annually to produce the final production target of one 100,000 tonnes/year. Mining will commence at Bonasika Two, and then as this deposit is exhausted, operations will be phased into Bonasika One and finally Bonasika Five. A feasibility study has been completed.
The company says that there would be direct employment of 207 employees at the mine and the two processing plants and total estimated capital costs for the project of US$112.8 million with sustaining capital costs of US$7.5 million during the Bonasika mine life.
First Bauxite Corporation is a Canadian natural resources company engaged in the exploration and development of bauxite deposits, through resource discovery and mining within a niche industrial market. The company has its head office in Vancouver and its current assets in Guyana and is managed by experienced geoscientists and business development professionals with worldwide experience in the exploration and mining business across a number of mineral commodities.
First Bauxite controls a large land package in Guyana’s historical coastal bauxite belt, including the Bonasika Mining License and the Waratilla Prospecting Licence, covering deposits which were drilled in 1940s-60s by ALCAN and which host near surface deposits of refractory grade bauxite. The company has also entered into an agreement to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Bauxite Corporation of Guyana Inc and accordingly, 100% of its interest in the contiguous Tarakuli and Tarakuli North-West Prospecting Licenses in Northeast Guyana, which host an historical inferred bauxite resource of significant size and quality.
Ioannis Tsitos is the company’s President while Hilbert Shields is the company’s Chief Executive Officer.
