ONE WEEK after slashing its workforce by 150 and amid upheavals and uncertainty in the local and international bauxite sector, St Ann Jamaica Bauxite Partners Limited, Discovery Bay, St Ann, has appointed Pansy Johnson as its general manager.

Johnson becomes the first Jamaican and first woman to be appointed general manager of a local bauxite operation.

Another Jamaican, Fraser Perry, served as resident manager, reporting to the general manager when the company was owned by Kaiser.

Johnson, who joined the company in 1986 and worked as financial controller, was until recently, operations manger. She replaces Lawrence Luehring, who was appointed general manager 10 months ago.

St Ann Jamaica Bauxite Partners is 51 per cent owned by the Government of Jamaica and the remaining 49 per cent is a joint-venture partnership between Century Aluminum and Noranda Aluminum, through the Missouri-based Falconbridge company.

In 2004, Falconbridge acquired a 50 per cent interest in the St Ann bauxite company. Century Aluminium Company acquired the remaining 50 per cent interest in the asset.

Bauxite refining

Most of the bauxite from St Ann is refined into alumina at the Gramercy, Louisiana, refinery and the rest is sold to third parties.

Annual bauxite production capacity is 5.1 million tonnes of ore.

St Ann Jamaica Bauxite Partners Limited was formerly named Kaiser Jamaica Bauxite Co and was jointly owned by Kaiser Aluminum and the Government of Jamaica.