Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Floyd Green, says there is a renewed drive to capitalise on bauxite residue, otherwise called ‘Jamaican red mud’.

Making his contribution to the 2026/27 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 13, Green explained that more than a decade ago, Japan's Nippon Light Metal, working with the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI), found that the country’s bauxite residue contains rare earth element concentrations that test at roughly 25 times those found in the upper continental crust.

“Yet the project never proceeded further because of a combination of factors, including world pricing and the fact that what was designed was a pilot, not a commercial plant. There is renewed drive to capitalise on our red mud – Jamaican red mud,” he said.