Bauxite company Bosai has begun a study aimed at investing in the stalled manganese project in the North West with a team expected in the country soon, company secretary Norman McLean has said.
According to him, the proposed investment is seen “as a backward integration process for what we’re doing.” McLean made the comments during a meeting with the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee (PSC) on Natural Resources which visited Linden on Monday to hear the concerns of stakeholders regarding Bosai’s bauxite operations. The meeting was held at Watooka House, Linden, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.
According to GINA, Mclean said that an overseas team is expected to be in the country next month to do due diligence on the proposed manganese investment.
Last October, Stabroek News had reported that a planned US$233 million manganese mine at Matthews Ridge, Region One by Canadian firm Reunion Gold Corporation is at a standstill having been affected by the economic slowdown in Asia and other parts of the world making it difficult for the company to find financing. Reunion’s subsidiary, Reunion Manganese Inc (RMI), had initially said that the mine would be commissioned mid-2014. The company was granted four prospecting licences (PLs) in September 2010 for a period of three years. RMI subsequently applied for two one-year extensions which was expected to expire in September 2015, unless an extension of the PLs is obtained.
In an update in April, Reunion announced that the Guyana Geology & Mines Commission (GGMC) has confirmed that its Matthews Ridge prospecting licenses continue to be in good standing. “As a result of the significant decline in manganese price which has adversely affected the development of the Matthews Ridge project, the GGMC has agreed to defer certain obligations under the licences for a period of up to two years, ending April 30, 2018,” the company said.
“The Matthews Ridge project continues to be on care and maintenance while the company is evaluating various options to fund ongoing obligations. Under the current market conditions, there can be no assurance that the company will be able to complete a financing or other type of arrangement to fund its ongoing obligations and develop its Matthews Ridge project,” the statement added.
Meantime, Bosai’s General Manager Robert Shang also disclosed that Bosai is exploring tapping into new markets such as “MAZ bauxite which is the metallurgic grade bauxite,” GINA reported. “Once those projects can be realised, we can create another 500 or 600 jobs for future,” he said in addressing concerns raised about the shortage of employment opportunities since Bosai took over the bauxite operations.
GINA reported that Shang pointed out that the market for the calcined bauxite is shrinking and Bosai is “looking into all possibilities to improve our sales situation.”
McLean added that Bosai tried the MAZ bauxite project earlier this year but was not successful. “We want to move about 500,000 tons of metal grade bauxite which is the MAZ,” he said. However, the programme was stymied by the “logistics of the movement of the bauxite.” A feasibility study has been launched in this regard, GINA reported.
Member of Parliament Audwin Rutherford raised a question about the computation of workers’ salaries. GINA noted that last year, the Ministry of Labour ruled that Bosai’s computation of workers’ salaries was not in accordance with labour laws.
At the meeting on Monday, National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) General Secretary, Kenneth Joseph told the PSC members that Bosai has since taken the matter to court and therefore it is sub-judice.
The issue of workers’ health and safety was also raised. In the past, workers have raised their concerns about the conditions that they have faced while employed at the company, GINA said.
Safety equipment
Bosai officials insisted that the full complement of safety equipment is provided to workers, rigorous vehicle maintenance is observed and visits in the mines are done to ensure employees are comfortable, GINA reported.
However, union representative Joseph said that from time to time, issues would arise. One is the quality of the safety boots provided and the time it takes to replace gear. Joseph said the company addresses these issues when they arise, but not to the union’s satisfaction. He then promised to provide the PSC with a list of concerns that the union was asked to address after a request for same was made by the PSC Chairman Odinga Lumumba, GINA reported.
It was also reported that NAACIE’s branch chairman Linnell Warden questioned when the “no tax on overtime” will be applied. In December, Minister of State Joseph Harmon at a post-Cabinet briefing announced the restoration of tax free overtime benefits for bauxite workers.
On Monday, Warden was told that it is the union that has to write the Ministry of Finance and ask for the tax free concession as it is not enshrined in law. GINA noted that bauxite workers were afforded tax free overtime from 1988 but in 2007, the PPP/C administration had disallowed the provision.
Blackouts
Meanwhile, MP Rutherford raised residents’ concerns about power generation in the region. “Recently we’ve been getting more than enough of our share of power outages,” he said while asking Bosai to provide an update on equipment status and power generation capacity.
Shang responded that outages are as a result of line distribution, GINA said. It noted that there are two utility companies in Linden that are responsible for the distribution of electricity. Bosai’s power plant generates electricity for its operations and the Linden community with six Wartsila generators, along with two additional sets that are not in use. Complementing the existing sets, are three Caterpillar generators the company rents from Macorp. The latter are used during peak hours (6pm to 9:30pm) when all the Wartsila generators are not functioning, GINA said.
According to powerhouse Supervisor Lennox Prince, Bosai sells bulk electricity to the Linden Electricity Inc (LEI).
GINA said that at the top of Monday’s agenda was clarifying the quality of bauxite ore being exported. Lumumba questioned whether any agency analyses the bauxite ore before it is shipped out of the country. Technical Services Coordinator of Bosai, Wainewright Bethune replied, “I don’t know if there is any entity coming here to verify what we have in our storage bin,” GINA reported.
It noted that the concern about the quality of the ore was raised by councillor Charles Sampson last week when the PSC met with Region Ten councillors. “It was clear during that meeting that Linden residents were highly skeptical of the bauxite company’s operations,” GINA said. It noted that Bosai, a Chinese company, has been operating the bauxite plant and mines in Region 10 for the past 10 years.
Company officials went on the defensive when their operations were questioned, according to GINA. The report said that Bosai’s Port Facility Security Officer John Domer assured that only the four bauxite products produced by the company – refractory-calcined grade, cement grade, chemical grade and AGB- Abrasive grade – are shipped out.
The committee was further told that information on the processing of the mineral is presented to the GGMC. “Every month we supply a report to GGMC stating our stripping, mining, and production,” Bethune clarified. Lumumba said the GGMC should analytically check the quality of Bosai’s bauxite.
Meantime, GINA reported that the PSC has called for a more effective public relations programme to dispel misconceptions by Region Ten residents on bauxite processing. It reported that Shang said the company will consider the suggestion.
