The comments were made as the Head of State and other senior members of Cabinet were at the commissioning ceremony for the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc., Kurubuka Mining and Production Complex in Region Ten on Thursday, March 11. The Kurubuka mine is located immediately adjoining to the Berbice River.
Among those who were present for the opening ceremony were, Works Minister Robeson Benn, Minister within the Ministry of Finance Juan Edghill, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud, and others.
The President said the event marks another milestone in the project of saving Guyana’s bauxite industry.
The possibility of adding value to bauxite was a topic of discussion between government officials and RUSAL and the President noted that it is his hope that this can be further explored.
RUSAL was lauded by the Head of State for this bold step, having shown such confidence in Guyana’s economy. He stated that he will be looking forward to working closely with Russia in other areas.
Meanwhile Minister Robert Persaud also took the time to hail the company for the initiative as it had been several years in the making. This investment, Minister Persaud said reflects confidence on the part of the company as they have expended $4.6 B on it. He too noted that the surrounding communities stand to benefit as hundreds of Guyanese are currently employed by the company.
“We have always ensured that when foreign investors come that they are given the necessary support, that there is an enabling environment, but we also ensure that they adhere to our national laws, and at the same time ensure that they give back to the community to ensure that the contribution to the country especially in the development in the utilisation of our natural resource.”
BCGI, a subsidiary of RUSAL (successor to AMC/Bermine), was founded in December 2004 under an agreement between RUSAL and the Government of Guyana, and started its operational activities in 2005. RUSAL owns a 90% stake in the company while the remaining 10% belongs to the Government of Guyana.
In 2013, BCGI commenced a project to develop a new deposit Kurubuka-22, located in Aroaima which encompasses the construction of the mine, service road and comprehensive production complex to crush, dry and on-load commercial bauxite.
Minister Persaud said that from 2005 to 2014, the company directly invested US$96M (G$19.2B) into the Guyanese economy, of which, it spent locally US$65M (G$13B) in buying local materials and procuring services available.
Meanwhile the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Vladislav Soloviev thanked the Guyana Government for creating a favourable investment climate, and all the necessary support for such an investment.
“Our business cooperation with Guyana is developing in the context of strengthening connections between Russia and Latin America.”
In this regard, he said Guyana has rich mineral resources, while Russia possesses the knowledge, experience and technology required for mining; hence working together to implement projects in this area is a vital point of growth for mutual economic cooperation.
Minister Persaud said that total bauxite production for 2014 amounted to 1,601,747 MT of which BCGI produced 79%. With the expansion of its operations by the commissioning of the Kurubuka 22 Mines, the company expects to increase their annual production to a capacity of 2,300,000 tonnes per year in 2015, which equates to a 30% increase. [Extracted and modified from GINA]
