As of October this year, over half a million tonnes of bauxite have been produced by the two companies operating here.
Data from the Guyana Bureau of Statistics showed that 569,289 tonnes of bauxite have been produced.
The Sunday Stabroek was unable to determine the respective production figure for Linden-based bauxite company BOSAI, and US-owned First Bauxite, located at Sand Hills, Region Three.
Senior Minister with responsibility for finance in the Office of the President Dr Ashni Singh had disclosed in his Budget 2022 presentation that the production of bauxite declined by 3.8 per cent in 2021.
He pointed out that in the latter half of the year, along with the effects of the continuous rainfall on the condition of access roads and on mining operations, one of the large operators faced mechanical issues with some of its machinery, thereby resulting in output falling by an estimated 12.7 per cent below its 2020 performance. This overshadowed the 155 per cent growth in output recorded by the other smaller operator.
Chinese-owned BOSAI operations, the minister had said, was expected to make a capital investment of some US$16 million to expand its operations.
The investment would have covered the cost of construction of a third kiln and procurement of other heavy-duty equipment to improve the scale and efficiency of their mining operations.
“This third kiln is rated to have a throughput of 650 metric tonnes of bauxite per day and will increase the plant’s installed production capacity by 65 per cent with operation expected to begin in the latter half of 2022,” the minister had informed then.
It is unclear if the investment was ever made.
At the time, Singh said there was expected growth in 2022 with production growing by 25.4 per cent. This would see greater output expected from both large operators.
