Noranda Jamaica Bauxite Partners built Belle Tierre water reservoir in St. Ann officially commissioned in service

In December 2021, Robert Montague, the Transport and Mining Minister of Jamaica formally commissioned Belle Tierre Reservoir in St. Ann into the service. The waterbody was built by Noranda Jamaica Bauxite Partners, at an estimated cost of US$800,000.

The rainwater harvesting facility is located on Noranda’s bauxite mining lands and can stock around 17 million gallons of water that will be used to wet the roads and confront the dust problem.

The Jamaican minister highlighted that the adjoining society that has lamenting for years will now have to grapple with a lesser amount of dust due to an escalation of water sprinkling on the roads, as the company will be using around 70,000 gallons of water per day to keep the roads wet.

He further added, “So, it is a major investment by Noranda in response to the cries of community members. There is a submersible pump, the place is well lit and fenced to keep people away.”

Montague also pointed that previously when the reservoir was not in place, Noranda used to truck water from Discovery Bay, which was considered often a time-consuming and potentially hazardous activity and hampered the daily lives of Jamaicans.

“The situation also means that for Noranda Jamaica Bauxite Partners it will cost them less because they have to be hauling water from Discovery Bay to wet the road and it is a very expensive proposition,” Montague said.

“Also, there is a road safety issue as these large trucks with water coming up the hill impede normal Jamaicans going about their business as they have to come from Discovery Bay up to Brown’s Town and so even the tour buses going to Nine Miles are impacted.”

Delroy Dell, the Vice President and Country Manager for Noranda Jamaica Bauxite Partners, commented, “The Belle Tierre Reservoir represents an aspiration of the company for more than two decades.”

“Being able to respond more effectively to the wetting of the road also ensures compliance with the company’s environmental licence.”

“So, I am very pleased and happy that we can complete this very important project and put us in a very strong position, that as our mining footprint expands, we can manage any additional requirements for dusting,” Dell said.