Bauxite Company Noranda defends its land reclamation process

Bauxite company Noranda is defending itself against claims by irate farmers in the Dry Harbour Mountains of St Ann that their land reclamation efforts leave a lot to be desired.

Last week, residents of Rhoden Hall, Stepney and surrounding districts took the Jamaica Observer to deep craters in the ground in their area where the land has been mined out but not yet reclaimed. Two such craters are on either side of a house occupied by Alvin Hall and his wife. Hall said he sold his land to the bauxite company and is to be relocated but is still disgruntled. The craters have exposed limestone in some areas, while a thin layer of red dirt has been dumped on the surface at other points.

Under the Mining Act, bauxite companies must replace at least eight inches of soil in mined-out areas as part of the land reclamation process. Bauxite companies have three years to complete this reclamation or pay a fine of US$25,000 per hectare.

General Manager of Noranda Pansy Johnson insists that the company has adhered to government guidelines, and in some cases has exceeded them.

Johnson pointed to Noranda's rehabilitation efforts on lands that were left bare by the former miners. Noranda bought out Kaiser Bauxite Company and has been operating in Jamaica for the last three years.

The company has embarked on a greenhouse farming project which turns old mining pits into water ponds which supply the greenhouses.

Kent Skyers, public and community relations superintendent at Noranda, says greenhouse farming brings better yields for farmers and should be seen as an alternative to traditional farming in areas that have been mined out.

The company has set up 40 greenhouses in the Dry Harbour area which produces sweet peppers, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, pak choy and other crops.

The company has also set up greenhouse projects at York Castle and Brown's Town High schools, Aboukir Institute, Aabuttnott Gallimore Primary and St Christopher's School for the Deaf.

The residents have also complained that they were not properly compensated for crops which were pushed off the land they mined for generations and say their livelihood has been effectively destroyed.

But Johnson explained that the land had been bought by the Kaiser Bauxite Company many years ago and that farmers were given ample notice that they would be compensated at farm gate prices set by the Rural Agricultural Development Agency when the tractors came to start the mining process.

While staying clear of dubbing some persons as dishonest, she said there was the practice of placing additional crops on the land when the time for mining drew near. The bauxite company is required to compensate farmers for every fruit tree on the property when they purchase it.

"We do as much as we can. We are very fair to them in terms of compensation for the land, compensation for the crops. We bought the land from their people some 20 or 30 years ago. We put them back on the land, free, in most cases. When we are ready for the land we give them notice. If there are crops on the land, we pay them for the crops. Am I going to say they are unreasonable? It would be difficult for me to say that, but you have to remember that we are a commercial enterprise," Johnson said.

But despite the company's efforts the residents in the mined-out lands remain dissatisfied.

The company pays residents $8,000 an acre to plant napier grass on mined-out land but some residents have complained that this is not the best variety as grazing animals don't eat it.

But Production and Reclamation Co-ordinator at Noranda Alfred Henry explained that the grass is in high demand and the company has to pay security guards to stave off praedial larcenists who steal the grass by the truck loads.

Grass is planted on mined-out land to prevent erosion.

Residents of Dry Harbour also complain bitterly about the dust nuisance, a problem that Johnson said the company was aware of and was trying to address.