Jamaica's historic shipment of alumina

Jamaica has achieved another milestone as it has now sent its first ton of alumina from Jamaican soil to Canada on January 7, 1953. The other ton of alumina is also on the pallet on the truck in the foreground. In the picture is Mr. F.C. Bailey (with a tie) the wharfinger of Pier Three from which the alumina was being loaded.

The departure of the s/s TRIDENT from Railway Pier Three with 2,300 tons of the fine white powder marked Jamaica's first ever export of alumina, a partially refined form of bauxite, and the beginning of the country's involvement in the aluminum industry on a global scale. The alumina was mined from Manchester and processed by Alumina Jamaica Ltd.

From Jamaica's red dirt,' a fine white powder like granulated sugar, was loaded for export yesterday afternoon. At the blazing sun at Railway Pier Three, alumina which will be the first partially refined form of bauxite to leave Jamaica was loaded onto the s/s Trident.

It will take about four days for 2,300 tons of it to increase the draught of the s/s Trident by six feet. From the Manchester hillsides, the clean, white powder packed by Alumina Jamaica Ltd. in stout paper bags arrived at Pier Three by rail over the past weeks.

In two weeks, the bags, each weighing 100lbs, will reach Halifax, Canada for transshipment to Norway. Yesterday, stevedores handled the bags on hand trucks as if they had gold in their charge.

The last cargoes of the steamship Trident were coal and iron ore. The dirty holds were being cleaned out yesterday. Two holds remained dusty, but the alumina, secure from contamination in its bags, was not loaded into them.

There was no fanfare to the loading process. A handful of representatives from the manufacturing company, Alumina Jamaica Ltd., Kingston Wharves and the Jamaica Government Railway were present.

Present for Sprostons, agents for Alumina Jamaica were Mr. A. Smith; from the J.G.R., Mr. P. Feres; and from Kingston Wharves, Mr. Dudley Ferreira, manager; Mr. F.C. Bailey, wharfinger at Pier 3; and Mr. A.D. Cover, supervisor of wharves.

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