MILE GULLY, Manchester – With the imminent resumption of bauxite mining here, Member of Parliament for Manchester North Western Mikael Phillips is calling for the construction of a haul road and more benefits for communities affected by the industry.

“Mining is set to take place in north-west [Manchester]. The largest deposit of bauxite that Jamalco has left as a reserve is there. They have in the past and will continue to use the main road all the way to Clarendon to haul bauxite,” he told the Jamaica Observer recently.

His comments follow concerns by residents that trucks will be hauling bauxite on the main road from Mile Gully to St Jago in Clarendon, near Toll Gate. Phillips said bauxite mining last took place in the Mile Gully area over a decade ago.

He claimed that a suggestion for a haul road has been ongoing for the past six years.

“It cannot be a protracted long period that they using the [main] road to haul bauxite especially with the width of the Mile Gully road, because that is just a disaster waiting to happen and Government should not allow them to be hauling bauxite for any long period,” he said, while adding that approval is needed from the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA).

Bauxite and alumina company Jamalco confirmed that it intends to commence mining in the Mile Gully area in September.

The company added that it has received approval to haul bauxite on the main road.

“Jamalco has applied to the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and National Works Agency (NWA) and has been granted permission to transport bauxite to the St Jago Railhead. The permit has strict guidelines regarding the tonnage and mitigation strategies to prevent spillage on the roadway. Jamalco has on all occasions implemented strategies to ensure that the guidelines outlined in the permits are adhered to. Jamalco has not transported bauxite in recent months from Mile Gully to its St Jago facilities,” the company said in an emailed response to queries by the Observer.

Phillips has accused Jamalco of poorly patching main roads and has called on the Government to intervene.

“You can see that they did some road patching from Clarendon to Mile Gully, but it is really an indictment on the NWA to allow Jamalco to go and patch the road and give a substandard quality that they did without any sanctions,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter who is patching it, it is still a Government road and it should be done at the standard of the NWA, [because] what I see out there is really a shame. Whoever the contractor was is a shame,” added Phillips.

Said Phillips: “I see where holes are where pipes have been leaking for weeks and they still fill the hole with asphalt, you see potholes and the way they throw in the asphalt is like they stamp on it to put it down rather than to lay it properly and roll it.”

Jamalco, in response, said it has not received any complaints regarding road patching.

In preparation for the commencement of mining, Jamalco has patched the main road from Clarendon Park to the Greenvale site in Mile Gully. The company has not received any complaints regarding the quality of work undertaken,” Jamalco said.

The company said when all approvals are granted, it will proceed to construct a haul road from Greenvale in North Manchester to its Mount Oliphant facility in South Manchester.

Phillips pointed out that the Mile Gully main road is narrow.

“We have been asking them [Jamalco] to bush it and keep it clean just because they have their heavy-duty trucks coming on the road. When they did it this time even the bushing itself was substandard,” claimed Phillips.

He accused the Government and bauxite companies of inadequately investing in resources for communities affected by mining.

“Constituencies like north-west Manchester what we get back from bauxite is negligible compared to the damage to the whole environment to the communities,” said Phillips.

“For them to put up two signs and give out two scholarships, for me, is a slap in the face of Jamaicans in what the bauxite companies earn from it to what goes back into the community. Four million dollars every four years to go back into a community that has been affected by bauxite is an insult by the Government of Jamaica to the people who are affected,” added Phillips.