KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica’s bauxite industry can now breathe a sigh of relief, according to the Mining Ministry, as the United States sanctions imposed on Russian companies, including UC Rusal, have been lifted.

UC Rusal is the majority owner of the WINDALCO bauxite plant in St Catherine.

Transport and Mining Minister, Robert Montague, in a release today, described the news as “a welcomed respite as the jobs of approximately 1,200 workers at WINDALCO and the livelihood of a further 10,000 dependents, contractors, residents and business persons in communities neighbouring the alumina plant and related facilities, are no longer threatened”.

On April 6, last year, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added, amongst others, seven Russian oligarchs and twelve companies they own or control, to its Designated Nationals List (the OFAC Sanctions).

Oleg Deripaska, the single largest shareholder in UC Rusal, was named amongst those on the OFAC sanctioned list. As a result, all Deripaska’s assets and those entities within US jurisdiction have been frozen with US individuals prohibited from dealing with them. Additionally, non-US individuals could face secondary sanctions for knowingly facilitating significant transactions for, or on behalf of the individuals or the entities sanctioned.

Montague said that while the Jamaican Government has been keeping a close eye on the matter of the US sanctions on UC Rusal, the mining ministry had made several attempts during the period of the threat of the sanctions to protect the interest of the community and the country; particularly the workers, the environment and revenue to Jamaica.

“During the period, the Government ensured that critical supplies, which include fuel, power, and chemicals, were supplied to WINDALCO, in order to maintain operations and continue to make positive contributions to the economy,” Montague said.