“Bonasika Mining Project on its way to full production”
─ safety of workers first and foremost
─ protection of the environment top priority
─ community development is their main social responsibility
DPI, Guyana, Friday, January 11, 2019
The new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of First Bauxite Corporation, Bill Rice, is adamant that the company will continue to hold, as a matter of top priority, its contributions to the surrounding Sand Hill Community, where its Bonasika Mining Project is located in Region Three.
Speaking with the Department of Public Information (DPI) during a tour of the mining project on Thursday, Rice noted the importance of upholding the company’s social responsibility.
“I like to say that we earn our mining license on a daily basis with the community… because if we don’t do the right things then we will never be successful,” says Bill Rice.
Rice also highlighted protection of the environment as another area of importance to his company.
“Both environment and safety, those are two of the most important things to us, so its something we are going to work very hard to ensure we leave as small a footprint as possible,” notes Bill Rice.
Head of its Guyana Office, Company Director, Ian Christie, reiterated this notion stating that the company was working assiduously to recycle as much material as possible.
“As much as possible, we are recycling the water, using it in the washing process. This mine is very benign, that even though it’s a minerals operation we don’t use chemical in the processing” says Christie.
The Bonasika Mining Project includes the development of the mine site, processing plant and supplementary facilities. The company, to date, has employed twenty-five persons from the Sand Hills community. There is a total of 130 local contractors on site with 70 permanent local staff; 10 of whom are in middle management positions and 5 in senior management. There are also 8 expat managers on site.
Felecia Valenzuela.
Images: Tajpaul Bridgemohan.