The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) has reported what it says was “a significant improvement of 121.8 per cent in overall bauxite production during the first quarter of this year” compared with the corresponding period last year.
According to the commission’s 2012 Mining Supplement, bauxite production during the January – March 2012 period reached 592,863 tonnes valued at $8.2 billion. The commission says that figure represents a 121.8 per cent increase over the first quarter of 2011, adding that dried products, cement, chemicals and metallurgical grade bauxite showed production increases of 2,024.8%, 174.3% and 29.6 per cent respectively followed by calcined grade, RASC with 32.6 per cent.
During the period, the industry shipped 586,060 tonnes of bauxite to overseas markets valued at US$40.8 million. During the same period 58,409 tonnes of calcined bauxite valued at US$22.5 million were shipped abroad.
Such production and export gains as may have been realized by the bauxite industry during the first quarter of this year, may well have been significantly boosted by what, according to the GGMC, were significant increases in shipping prices for refractory grade bauxite. Statistics provided in the document indicate that during the first quarter of this year the shipping price for RASC reached US$385.62 per tonne, a 7 per cent increase; while shipping price for metallurgical grade bauxite rose by 147 per cent.
Guyana is a key international producer of refractory grade bauxite, which is mined at Linden by the joint venture operation Bosai Guyana Ltd, owned by the Chinese company Bosai and the Government of Guyana.
