Government Revives Push to Turn Bauxite Residue Into Economic Gain

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, the Hon. Floyd Green, says the Government is pressing again to derive value from bauxite residue, widely known as Jamaican red mud.

Addressing the 2026/27 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 13, Mr. Green recalled that more than ten years ago Japan’s Nippon Light Metal, in cooperation with the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI), established that residue from local bauxite carries rare earth element levels measuring about twenty-five times those typical of the upper continental crust.

Work on that front stalled, he said, owing to several issues, among them global price conditions and the reality that the earlier scheme was a pilot facility rather than a commercial operation. “Yet the project never proceeded further because of a combination of factors, including world pricing and the fact that what was designed was a pilot, not a commercial plant. There is renewed drive to capitalise on our red mud – Jamaican red mud,” he said.

Mr. Green stressed that the Mining Act already requires a licence holder who discovers a mineral other than the one authorised to disclose the find and pay applicable royalties. He believes that obligation holds whether the material is red mud in Jamaica or in Louisiana. “It is worth indicating that our Mining Act does maintain that where someone has a licence for one mineral, but finds another, he is under a duty to report it and to pay royalty. I am of the view that that legal position persists, whether the red mud is here in Jamaica or is in Louisiana. I have asked the Attorney General to opine on the subject and have instructed the legal team to make the requisite changes to the Mining Act to make that position beyond doubt,” he added.

The minister reported that JBI is in late-stage talks with the domestic licence holder aimed at scaling the pilot installation into a full commercial plant. He said a two-year timetable and capital programme for that upgrade is set to start this year, noting that an extensive sampling effort has already been completed and that “we look forward to a formal signing”.

Mr. Green said he has also directed officials to complete the tax and fiscal framework governing rare earth element output. On the wider minerals side, he pointed out that seventy per cent of Jamaica’s industrial mineral subsector is consumed at home. Those materials underpin the construction sector and supply more than eighty-five per cent of the cement the country uses.

Quarry output rose sharply in 2025, he said, climbing to roughly 5.9 million tonnes from 3.7 million tonnes in 2024, in line with heavy demand linked to infrastructure and building work. “With the rebuilding, this is going to increase. We are going to continue to ensure that the revenues from non-bauxite mineral operations are collected efficiently and expeditiously, while we continue to encourage investors to move from just marl production and to go into value added. Jamaica has high purity limestone that is used in things like antacids and toothpaste,” he stated.

Turning to metallic minerals, Mr. Green told the country that two of the world’s biggest mining firms are working with junior explorers in Jamaica to step up searches for gold, copper, and related metals. Freeport-McMoRan, together with C3 Metals Inc., has committed to spend US$75 million on copper and gold exploration. Barrick Mining Corporation has teamed up with Geophysx Jamaica Limited to spend an initial US$20 million on gold and copper work.

“Having met with these companies, they have already indicated promising results. C3 Metals have reported encouraging signs of possible large copper deposits and is moving to further exploration. If these partnerships uncover commercial-scale deposits, this country will reap great returns. Not only will we see increased export earnings but we will significantly benefit from the revenue generated through imposed taxes and the collection of royalties,” Mr. Green said.