The bauxite industry is beginning to feel the effects of scrap metal thieves who are removing railway lines and equipment.
The St. Catherine-based Ewarton plant of the West Indies Alumina Company (WINDALCO) is reporting that it has lost a significant number of equipment on its rail lines.
Dillon Fraser, Manager of Ports and Railway Services at the Bodles-based WINDALCO port facility, told RJR News that items such as screw spikes, which are like nails used to pin rail lines to the cross boards, are being removed on a frequent basis.
He added that frequent checks by the company along the railways from Bodles to Ewarton and the Bodles to the Kirkvine plant in Manchester, show that the screw spikes are also being removed on a regular basis.
Mr. Fraser said several kilometres of railway lines, which link the WINDALCO operations to the Jamalco bauxite plant in Clarendon, were recently stolen by scrap metal thieves.
According to Mr. Fraser, this has affected the companies' operations as those lines were used to send equipment, oil and other materials between the bauxite companies.
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