Russian mining company surveying bauxite industry
Stabroek News
April 9, 2003
Two members of Russian Aluminum (RUSAL) are to return here shortly to conduct a number of studies of the local bauxite industry over the next three months.
RUSAL is the second largest user of alumina producing 4.5m tonnes of aluminium per year. A team from the company led by its chief executive officer Oleg Derispaska, visited Guyana on Monday to investigate prospects for the local industry.
Stabroek News understands that RUSAL is seeking to increase its production of aluminium ingots and is looking at Guyana along with a number of other countries to see where it could source metal grade bauxite at economic prices.
Stabroek News understands too that the team held discussions with President Bharrat Jagdeo and Prime Minister Sam Hinds and sealed a Letter of Intent, which Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Roger Luncheon signed on behalf of the government.
In a press release from the Government Information Agency, Hinds is quoted as saying "Part of their strategy is to increase their position of 'owned' bauxite and alumina operations so they are seeking opportunities to get a position in bauxite or alumina...They would be looking at our existing traditional bauxite areas to see if they can fashion a situation in the first instance where they can get maybe 2m tonnes annually." The idea of a possible alumina plant was also discussed.
Sources close to the local industry told Stabroek News that RUSAL was seeking to establish long-term relationships and was looking at this stage at seeing whether the local metal grade deposits were economical as well as determining what sort of equipment is needed to remove the overburden and to transport the ore to the port.
These sources say that RUSAL could purchase metal grade bauxite from both the soon-to-be-privatised Linden Mining Enterprise and the Aroaima Mining Company.
The sources say that though the price for metal grade bauxite is depressed there is a growing market for it from which Guyana could benefit once it could reduce its costs of production.
