Noranda has been approved to mine 1,324 hectares in St. Ann.
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Dr. Peter Knight, head of the NRCA and Hugh Dixon, Executive Director of the South Trelawny Environmental Association
The Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) will allow Noranda Bauxite to mine in the vicinity of the Cockpit Country, but says the area approved is much smaller than was applied for by the company.
Noranda was seeking to mine 8,335 hectares under Special Mining Lease 173, but in May last year, Mining Minister Robert Montague said the boundaries would be reviewed following objection from stakeholders.
Dr. Peter Knight, head of the NRCA, said the authority has now approved only 1,324 hectares for mining in St. Ann.
"That area excludes the school and the Madras community," he said, noting that the authority had used "science and the empirical data" to justify its decision.
Mr. Knight said the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) will mandate additional studies to inform the renewal of the environmental permit over five year cycles and consideration for future mining outside the approved area.
He added that there will be oversight of the mining by multi-agency partners, and the National Heritage Trust will oversee protection of heritage sites in the area.
A compensation mechanism is also one of the conditions. According to Dr. Knight, it must be "developed and executed to address the loss of livelihoods".
In addition, the Ministry of Health and Wellness will be mandated to issue terms of reference for the conduct of a health impact assessment report.
Another condition is that MOUs be established with the Mining and Geology Division, Forestry Division, NEPA and the Water Resources Authority as it relates to the depth of mining and restoration of mined areas.
However, Hugh Dixon, Executive Director of the South Trelawny Environmental Association, said he is disappointed with the NRCA's decision.
"The sacrificing of 1,324 hectares is unfortunate because we really wanted to recover all of SML 173 and begin to look at an exit strategy for bauxite from Jamaica and the Cockpit Country as a wider consideration," he insisted.
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