Can Jamaica seize the moment? JBI pushes bauxite growth amid Guinea uncertainty

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The Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) has renewed its call for citizens to avoid occupying bauxite-bearing lands, highlighting growing concerns over unauthorised settlements on areas designated for mining, agriculture and future development projects. The statement may bear a twofold significance:

• The urgency to pick up production pace to mitigate the output decline post-Hurricane Melissa in October 2025
• An opportunity to deepen Jamaica’s footprint in the bauxite industry just as speculations stir the market about Guinea’s updated bauxite export restriction cap tightened at 150 million tonnes per annum (MTPA)

According to the Institute, bauxite lands play a crucial role in supporting agricultural activities before and after mining operations, requiring long-term planning and infrastructure development across Jamaica’s five bauxite-producing parishes.

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Kemoy Lindsay, Director of Bauxite Lands and Programme Manager for the Bauxite Community Development Programme (BCDP), mentioned that the JBI remains responsible for safeguarding and sustainably managing these lands.

Speaking during a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank session in Kingston on May 21, Lindsay noted that initiatives such as the Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI) have already facilitated the establishment of “hundreds of greenhouses across three of those bauxite parishes in the first phase,” with further expansion planned under the programme’s “second phase”.  

His observation is in line with the statement given by Honourable Floyd Green, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, who highlighted the urgent need for advancement in the mining sector, especially in the period of post-hurricane recovery and reconstruction.

“In 2025, export earnings from our bauxite and alumina subsector were USD 612 million, and we are seeing increased investor confidence, where the investment in our mining sector for bauxite moved from USD 251 million to USD 326 million last year,” Minister Green reported.

However, Director Lindsay pointed out that “squatting on bauxite lands has become a growing issue,” prompting the Institute to strengthen monitoring and protection measures.

Lindsay stated that the JBI has already undertaken actions and “several squatters from the bauxite spaces… lands earmarked for projects as well as lands that are earmarked for development.”

He added that enforcement efforts are expected to intensify in the coming financial year and “through the lifetime and life cycle of the bauxite industry in Jamaica,” as part of the Institute’s broader strategy to preserve land resources tied to the Jamaican bauxite industry.  

The Jamaica Bauxite Institute serves as a key source of information and research on the country’s bauxite and alumina sector. The organisation is widely recognised for its data analysis and industry studies, making Jamaica one of the few developing nations with a dedicated institution focused on the research and development of a major mineral resource.

Jamaica’s standing in the bauxite industry

Hurricane Melissa, which hit Jamaica in October 2025, posed several operational and infrastructure challenges for the Jamaican bauxite industry. Consequently, production sustained a considerable year-on-year decline.  

Although having an annual extraction capacity of about 6 million tonnes per year, Jamaica’s total bauxite output for 2025 stood at approximately 5.63 million tonnes, marking a 4.4 per cent decline compared to the corresponding period in 2024, which produced 5.9 million tonnes.

Nonetheless, Minister Green maintained an optimistic outlook and referred to the projects and investments that are in the pipeline and likely to support the bauxite sector of the nation:  

• Century Aluminum’s Jamalco refinery upgrade, involving approximately USD 80 million in capital investment, including a new turbine generator to enhance energy self-sufficiency. The project was expected to restore the plant to its full nameplate capacity of 1.4 million tonnes and be commissioned by the end of May 2026.
• Discovery Bauxite’s infrastructure expansion, with USD 45 million earmarked for a new haulage road, maintenance upgrades and heavy-duty equipment purchases.  
• Alpart refinery reopening initiative, where the Jamaican government is seeking clarity from JISCO on the phased restart of the Saint Elizabeth operation, which remains a major pending project for the country's mining sector. This is expected to add another 1.7 million tonnes to the cumulative annual output.
• Windalco’s haulage road project in Saint Ann, a USD 29 million investment that has already opened access to additional high-grade bauxite reserves.

However, the global industry is left to speculate on how far Jamaica’s preparation to etch its presence on the global platform can fill the supply deficit from Guinea’s export limits.

If Guinea advances to lower the bauxite export limit from an estimated 1.83 MTPA to 1.5 MTPA, the deficit of 33 MTPA is a large gap, which, with Jamaica’s present maximum output and Alpart’s anticipated restart, would be filled by approximately 7.7 MTPA or 23.33 per cent, still leaving behind a gaping annual deficit of 25.3 MTPA.

Further expansions, once commissioned, are expected to further close the gap, although the updated volumes post-expansion completion remain to be revealed.  

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