Noranda Bauxite organised expo on the theme 'agriculture meets mining' to demonstrate re-use of mined-out lands

Noranda Bauxite organised an Agriculture Education Industry Exposition at the Port Rhodes Sports Complex in Discovery Bay, St Ann, Jamaica on May 30 to demonstrate how agricultures and education sector can be developed and boosted by the bauxite industry. Bauxite industry in Jamaica has the impression of being a sector that mines the ground to take out ores and ships to foreign investors at the cost of the environment and community.

Noranda Bauxite took a bold step to change that perception while sticking to the theme 'agriculture meets mining' for a first-ever presentation on various facets of the bauxite industry which people in Jamaica are unaware of.

It was a new experience for Jamaican visiting the expo and seeing hundreds of small farmers displaying their products farmed on mined-out lands using Greenhouse technology. The farmers explained how greenhouse technology, introduced by the bauxite company in mining areas made it possible to do agricultural activities on mined-out lands, and how the draught problem was handled by the construction of large water reservoirs at the four greenhouse clusters.

On the educational side, some 20 schools, encouraged by a Noranda School garden competition, exhibited products from their recently renovated school gardens.

Noranda General Manager Delroy Dell explained the purpose of the expo in his comment: “Contrary to any impression conveyed that our business is confined to mining and shipping 'red dirt', the expo today displays how the bauxite landscape is dotted with schools, community centres, skills training centres, small and large businesses, sports teams, youth clubs, and community self-start development projects all bearing the stamp of the industry.”

Display of land reclamation process, greenhouse technology, farming on reclaimed lands, wellness projects, environment and safety enablers, education and community outreach projects and the experimental aqua culture and hydroponics farming systems for mined-out lands impressed the audience.

The expo presented a new side to bauxite mining. The expo tried to present that there is another side to the industry that calls into question the balance between the economic and social contributions of the industry vs. the alleged environmental effects from mining.

Responding to the media reports of illegal mining in cockpit country, the prime minister announced that no bauxite mining is taking place in the designated Cockpit Country Protected Area.

The prime minister said that he still “has to look at all factors, to look at the big picture, to take into consideration all the elements of the problem and its complexities, and to come up with a solution that is sustainable”.

The solution, according to him must take into account the future of the bauxite mining industry, its importance to the economy and appreciation of its contribution to growth and development of Jamaican people.