Jamaica’s leading foreign exchange industries are tourism and mining. During our trip to Discovery Bay on the north coast of Jamaica we caught a glimpse of Jamaica’s Bauxite mining industry first hand. The beautiful Discovery Bay is interrupted by a hard to miss shipping pier with a large conveyer belt delivering Bauxite from a large mine adjacent to the bay. Bauxite (pronounced box-ite) is the raw material used in the production of Aluminum and Jamaica is the second largest exporter of this mineral (Australia being the largest). A majority of the processed Bauxite is exported to none other than the United States. The Aluminum foil you might have at home may very well have started out in a Jamaican Bauxite mine!
Because Jamaica is economically dependent on mining Bauxite, the environmental effects of the operation have sometimes been overlooked. Due to the concentration of the Bauxite found in Jamaica, approximately 1 ton of sodium rich and slightly acidic red mud waste is produced for every ton of Bauxite that is processed. Methods for dealing with the waste have included pumping it back into mining cavities and building sealed red mud ponds to prevent it from reaching the ground water. Unfortunately, there is yet to be a very effective solution for this problem on the island of Jamaica where land is at a premium. Mining operations are required to remove topsoil and replace it when done but often the land is too de-mineralized for effective farming. Sodium rich waste reaching the ground water can affect drinking water supply, especially that of people living in rural areas near the mines.
Don’t forget that Bauxite is a non-renewable resource like fossil fuels (such as oil or coal) and once it is all mined out that’s it, no more new aluminum.
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