Acknowledgement

First and foremost, the researcher would like to offer her eternal gratitude to the

Almighty God who blessed her with the perseverance and the spirit of hard work to complete this

project.  She is also using this great opportunity to highly highlight her gratitude to everyone

who assisted in completing this assignment.  The researcher is thankful for their guidance and

constructive criticism as this is what shaped the topic of her research to what it has become and

for that the researcher is truly grateful.

 Rationale
The genesis of the bauxite industry is commemorated by a roadside plaque made from the

first aluminum cast from Jamaican ore. The Right Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey stated that,

“A people without the knowledge of their past, history, origin and culture are like a tree without

roots,” which is why the researcher chose the topic, “Factors that led up to the establishment and

growth of the bauxite industry,” due to curiosity as to why did they turn to bauxite, what made

the industry grow and what made it possible for it to become an industry because there must be

effects or influences as to why it led to this. This researcher will use those points to research,

highlight, analyze and interpret information gained from both primary and secondary sources so

that not only the researcher but others to learn from this research to get a better understanding as

to why the researcher chose this topic.

 Introduction

Bauxite is a rock formed from a reddish clay material called ‘laterite soil’ and is most

commonly found in tropical and subtropical regions. Few people now recall that Jamaica’s

bauxite/alumina industry was launched in the hills just north of Ocho Rios and that it was this

that started the metamorphosis of the tiny fishing village. At Phoenix Park near Moneague, the

genesis of the bauxite industry is commemorated by a roadside plaque made from the first

aluminum cast from Jamaican ore. The story goes that the alumina content of St Ann’s ‘red dirt’

was discovered when the original owner, Sir Alfred D’Costa, became distressed with the poor

condition of his cattle and sent abroad samples of the soil for analysis and the high bauxite

content was revealed. Thus, according to the plaque, “giving to Jamaica a new industry and to

the countries of the free world a new resource against aggression a reference, perhaps to the

extensive use of aluminium in fighter planes and missiles.”

Jamaican bauxite was not used during the war but three North American companies

Alcan, Reynolds and Kaiser came to Jamaica to survey, acquire reserve lands and set up

operations over the next few years. The pier at the west of town is the only reminder of Reynolds

Jamaica Mines, which was once the economic base of Ocho Rios. Construction of their deep

water pier began in the late ’40s and the first shipment of Jamaican bauxite to be exported left

there on June 5, 1952. This shipment was made to Reynolds’ parent company’s alumina plant at

Hurricane Creek, Arkansas. The Reynolds mines, plant and office were situated in the hills south

of Ocho Rios. The ore was mined in open pits, dried and then transported to the coast by an

overhead conveyor belt 6.3 miles long. By law, mined out bauxite land must be restored. In the

process, the open pits left after mining are bulldozed, filled, graded and covered with at least 6

inches of the top soil scraped off when mining started.

 Thesis Statement

There is evidence to show factors that made bauxite a significant contribution to Jamaica

during the 19th century which made beneficial resource(s) to the country.
 Body of Research

Bauxite had contributed to world during numerous occasions. It can be shown that

during World War II and even after the war, also the United States, bauxite became dependent

which made constructive implementations cause bauxite to have more recognition which led to

its starting point of development where companies from the United States saw quality and value

from Jamaican bauxite.

Jamaica like other British colonies was immediately involved in World War II when

after Germany invaded Poland, Britain declared war on Germany on September 1939. Jamaica

was far from the war in Europe and Germany's small U-boat fleet was not at first active in the

Caribbean. The U-boats were, however, a major concern for Britain's over stretched Royal Navy.

Britain applied the Defense of the Realm Act. This gave the Governor the authority to regulate

prices of all commodities to prevent profiteering from war time shortages. The Governor also

imposed press censorship as well as controls on mail and telegraph and cable messages. Jamaica

has an important bauxite resource, the raw material needed for aluminum production. Aluminum

was needed for aircraft production. The need for strategic materials to fight the War caused a

search for resources. This lead to exploration and development work for Bauxite in Jamaica

(1940s). Alcan, Reynolds, and Kaiser were all active. Jamaican bauxite was not used during the

war, but the three North American companies came to the island to survey, acquire reserve lands,

and set up operations. Reynolds began exporting bauxite from Ocho Rios (1952), and Kaiser

(1953) followed a year later from Port Kaiser on the southern coast. Alcan built Jamaica's first

alumina processing plant near its mines at Kirkvine, Manchester, and in early 1952 began

shipping alumina from Port Esquivel. This was the beginning of the industry in Jamaica.
 The commercial possibilities of Jamaican bauxite were recognized in 1943 at a time

when there was great need for aluminum for the Allied war effort, and when availability was

being made difficult by the harassment by German U-boats of Allied bauxite ships plying from

the sources of the ore in South America to the North American mainland. For technical reasons,

however, it happened that Jamaican bauxite was not required for the war effort. After the war,

because of a number of factors, including the pre-eminence of the geographically-close United

States as an economic and military power, and the emergence, at the instigation of the U.S.

Government, of three companies (Alcan, Reynolds, and Kaiser), each of which needed its own

independent source of bauxite, the Jamaican industry was rapidly developed to the point that the

island became the number one world producer in 1957. Growth continued during the

economically buoyant 1960s, and at the end of the decade six transnational companies—Alcan,

Reynolds, Kaiser, Alcoa, Anaconda, and Revere—were well established, mining and/or

processing bauxite in the island.

In 1952 the first shipload of bauxite left Jamaica for foreign markets, and two years later

the export of alumina began, to introduce a new element into Jamaican economy. The

constructive impact of the industries that grew from these beginnings has been felt not only in

the mining areas but also throughout the economy and in town and countryside. Some aspects of

that impact can be measured in increased educational facilities and in improved public health

services supported by government revenues derived from bauxite mining, and in the beginnings

of improved agriculture on lands rehabilitated to cropping after termination of bauxite removal

but, so far, the number of tenants on lands purchased by two of the companies for mining
actually has increased after acquisition. In other regions, it is not yet possible to isolate the

repercussions of mining from those associated with other developments.

 Conclusion
Bauxite is a rock formed from a reddish clay material called ‘laterite soil’ and is most
commonly found in tropical and subtropical regions. Bauxite is used to produce alumina, which
is then used to produce aluminum. Bauxite was not recognized until World War II greatly
increased the demand for aluminum, little attention was paid to the deposits of bauxite outside
Europe and the United States of America, including Jamaica, where geologists had noted the
“red ferruginous earth” as far back as 1869, without recognizing its significance.

During the 1940s exploration and development work was carried out in Jamaica, mainly
by Alcan, Reynolds and Kaiser. Jamaican bauxite was not used during the war, but these three
North American companies (Alcan, Kaiser and Reynolds) came to the island to survey, acquire
reserve lands, and set up operations. Reynolds began exporting bauxite from Ocho Rios in June
1952, and Kaiser followed a year later from Port Kaiser on the south coast. Alcan built the first
alumina processing plant near its mines at Kirkvine, Manchester, and in early 1952 began
shipping alumina from Port Esquivel. This was the beginning of the industry in Jamaica.