The Russian aluminium company Rusal has reportedly expressed an interest in reopening its Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc., the operations of which was suspended in February 2021, resulting in hundreds of layoffs, citing industrial unrest and damage to property.
On Monday, the company’s Country Representative and General Manager Mr Vladimir Permyakov met with a team of ministers and other government officials on recommencing its bauxite operations. They have been asked to submit a report with valid plans to return to viability given its interest in future investment.
During the meeting, Rusal pointed out several labour-related issues that they faced earlier, such as the Upper Berbice River block, which was a hindrance to the access to conduct critical works in the mine.
“They stressed also that the industrial relations environment needed much mending to restore the confidence for significant further investment in the operations,” said the Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat, one among the team of ministers who attended the meeting.
“They related their view that there are presently several technical matters which have to be addressed in the first instance, such as the restoration of the mine for safe mining after it became flooded,” he added.
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Economic concerns were also discussed in the meeting, as Rusal mentioned that the operating cost for extracting Guyana’s bauxite was not as competitive on the world market compared to other sources.
Rusal, the 90 per cent shareholder of BCGI, also expressed an interest in seeking investors for their share in the venture. The rest 10 per cent share of the company is owned by the Government.
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