KINGSTON, Jamaica — Transport and Mining Minister, Audley Shaw, says he has signed two orders for the delivery of 63 titles to people in the Lancaster and Blenheim subdivisions in Manchester, who have been resettled due to mining activities.

He said the orders were signed in March.

Shaw said that the Government is utilising the vesting order provision to fast-track the delivery of titles to people who have been relocated from mining lands.

“I think, for this year, we intend to give out about approximately 300 titles,” he confirmed.

Shaw was addressing the Manchester Bauxite and Alumina Industry’s 2022 Conference, held on May 19 at the Northern Caribbean University (NCU) campus in Mandeville.

Shaw said that the Government is committed to ensuring that mining entities are carrying out their mandates in the issuing of land titles to families who have been relocated.

He noted that the administration is also prioritising land reclamation.

“[This] has been an issue for decades and the Mines and Geology Division will speak, in detail, on how we are intending to improve in this area for this year,” the Minister said.

“The Government will not turn its back on issues that are important to mining host communities and residents in the general population,” he pointed out.

Shaw said that Manchester, which holds one of the island’s richest bauxite deposits, stands as a model for other places where mining is taking place.

“We want to use this as the standard by which we operate. We are on the right track to ensure that the industry is beneficial to the entire country,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Shaw said that the future of the extractives industry will include the exploration and development of other minerals such as limestone, rare earth minerals and iron.

He noted that Jamaica has the largest deposit of limestone in the Caribbean region.