SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — The loading of a cargo ship with 35,000 tonnes of bauxite for export on Monday has been hailed as another landmark in the long journey towards “full resumption” of the UC Rusal Alpart bauxite/alumina operations.

“This is the first major economic activity coming out of Alpart in six years,” declared Mining Minister Phillip Paulwell, who described himself as “excited and enthused” at the arrival of the cargo ship. When loading is completed later this week, the ship, Vyritsa, is scheduled to leave Alpart’s Port Kaiser facility for Ukraine, Alpart officials said.

Alpart, the largest alumina refinery in Jamaica, has been closed since 2009. But its Russian owner, UC Rusal, has committed to reopening the refinery at Nain, south-east St Elizabeth, in December 2016.

Since January, there has been a resumption of bauxite mining operations by Alpart in the Myersville region of south-east St Elizabeth. And the Jamaican Government has agreed to the export of bauxite by Alpart — pending the reopening of the alumina plant.

Monday, Paulwell joined Rusal officials in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the reopening of Port Kaiser in south Manchester. The port was previously dedicated to alumina exports, but has been reset in recent months to handle bauxite.

Bevan Shirley, acting managing director of Alpart, said that since the phased resumption of mining operations early this year, $125 million had been “directly pumped” into the Jamaican economy. Shirley said 300 people had been employed, primarily in south- east St Elizabeth and south Manchester; 200,000 tonnes of bauxite had been mined; and 60,000 tonnes had been transported to the port.

Shirley claimed Alpart’s activities had “brought some life back into the community at a time when it has been struggling with prolonged drought”.

Paulwell, meanwhile, told his audience that “the agreement for the full restoration of the refinery and the timeline (December 2016) is going to be honoured”.

The minister praised UC Rusal for its “new policy” to “outsource much of its activities to local contractors”. According to Paulwell, operations such as mining and trucking were now being done through local operators.

“I commend them (UC Rusal) for that,” said Paulwell.

Noting that the Government wanted an end to the “cycle of closure and reopening of bauxite companies in Jamaica”, Paulwell said UC Rusal had made a commitment for Jamaican bauxite to be totally dedicated to an aluminium smelter in Russia.

— Garfield Myers