Noranda Bauxite, Atlantic Alumina and Jamaica Bauxite Mining Limited made public the launch of Operation Discovery Tree, a project with a purpose to proliferate the forested areas in the parish of St. Ann. Operation Discovery Tree will incorporate the development of a tree nursery on selected lands retrieved from bauxite mining near its Water Valley operations, as well as the strategic replanting of trees grown at the nursery to develop forestry areas in the present unforested parts of the region.
However, Operation Discovery Tree was commenced to supplement Jamaica’s tree nursery capabilities and to enlarge the positive environmental impacts from Noranda’s ongoing tree planting, greenhouses, aquaponics, and other reclamation initiatives. Noranda Bauxite aspires to break ground on this new nursery in Q1 2022. The company is also working to identify target locations in which to create new forestry areas in collaboration with the Forestry Department of Jamaica, other relevant government agencies and Noranda’s community councils across St. Ann.
Mark Hansen, CEO of Concord Resources, principal owner of Atlantic Alumina, said: “While bauxite mining does not impact forestry reserves, it has a manageable impact on the environment during operations; however, steps such as Operation Discovery Tree, combined with our already progressive reclamation and rehabilitation programs, mitigate those impacts and can leave the natural environment with improved forest cover.’’
“Through the collaboration of our operations in Jamaica and Louisiana, our partners in Jamaica Bauxite Mining Limited, and our other Jamaican based stakeholders, Operation Discovery Tree have the potential to bring new forestry reserves to the areas in and around St. Ann. We are also investigating additional programs to benefit environmental protection in Jamaica and new initiatives on carbon offsets, as we endeavour to be a net addition of carbon capture”, he added.
Delroy Dell, Noranda’s Vice President and Country Manager stated: “With the limited availability of trees for replanting since 2020 due in part to COVID related implications, we believe that our new nursery project will quickly benefit Jamaica’s tree planting initiatives.”
“While we have planted over 16,000 trees in 2021, we expect our nursery project to allow for a much larger and more sustainable source of seedling trees for years to come.”
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