CARIBBEAN Cement Company could be forced to import gypsum — required for the manufacturing of cement — in six months if it is refused access to a quarry that has been dormant the last four decades.

Anthony Haynes, Carib Cement’s general manager, made the disclosure to the Business Observer yesterday in response to questions about the company’s proposed reopening of the Halberstadt Quarry in St Andrew.

The proposal was addressed in an environmental impact assessment report accessed by this newspaper. According to Carib Cement, mineable ore is depleted at the Bito Gypsum Quarry it now operates and reclamation activities will begin in 2014, leaving the Halberstadt Quarry as “the only economical reserve of gypsum remaining” on the island. It is intended for the quarry to supply the cement plant with the gypsum needed in the production of ordinary portland and blended cements, according to the company.

Haynes stated yesterday that the cement manufacturer has been using gypsum that was mined previously and is stored in inventory.

“We have approximately six months of gypsum inventory left,” Haynes revealed. “The alternative to mining gypsum would be to import the product.”

He noted that there are sources “of the right quality” in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Spain that the company could access.

“It is our preference, however, to avoid imports and continue to use 100 per cent indigenous constituents for our product,” Haynes said.

The Halberstadt Quarry, which has been closed for 40 years, is located towards the eastern boundary of St Andrew, less than a kilometre west of St Thomas, the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) said. It is reportedly approximately 1.5 km north and 1.2 km northeast of Salt Spring and Bito, St Andrew, respectively.

The project will involve repair and modification of access roads to Halberstadt, including the Salt Spring and Benoa to Halberstadt roadways. Additionally, the Salt Spring parochial road will be reopened for the transport of material from the quarry to storage.

Based on the reserves, the EIS said it is proposed that an annual extraction of 100,000 to 150,000 tonnes be targeted to extend the life of the quarry and the supply to Carib Cement.

“This will allow for supplying (Carib Cement’s) annual demand as well as approximately 50,000 to 100,000 tonnes of sales to their group companies and/or third parties,” the EIS said.

At these levels of production and based on the “proven” reserves, the life of the quarry will be 33 to 50 years, it was reported.

According to the EIS, an exploration drilling programme was conducted by NHL Engineering and based on the laboratory results, the average content of the gypsum there is approximately 52 per cent.

A total gypsum/anhydrite reserve of 6.7 million tonnes — 3.1 million tonnes of gypsum and 3.6 million tonnes of anhydrite — is estimated to be present in the Halberstadt deposit to the depth that was drilled, the EIS revealed.

It is anticipated that the mining activities at Halberstadt will employ 38 people, including permanent, casual and contractual employees.