Jamaica selling bauxite stake

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) – Jamaica is selling its seven per cent stake in a bauxite refinery operation, the island’s energy minister announced yesterday.
Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell told Parliament that the government would sell its $11 million stake in the West Indies Alumina Company, referred to as Windalco. It is located in the central Jamaican parish of Manchester.
The money will go to Windalco’s parent company, Russian aluminium giant UC Rusal. The $11 million sale will roughly halve a $21.5 million debt to the Russian company. A debt of $10.5 million remains.
Jamaica’s once-flourishing bauxite industry has fallen on hard times in recent years. Globally, high levels of aluminium supplies have led to lower prices.