West Suriname Plan
Encyclopedia
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
. As originally conceived, it consists among others of the mining of bauxite
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
in the Bakhuis Mountains
Bakhuis Mountains
The Bakhuis Mountains are a mountain range in central Suriname, spanning 110 kilometres. The mountain range form of the Northern part of the Wilhelmina Mountains, and were named after the Dutch explorer and Royal Dutch East Indies Army officer Louis August Bakhuis.The Bakhuis Mountains have rich...
, the building of a hydroelectric power plant on the Kabalebo River
Kabalebo River
Kabalebo River is a river of Suriname. It joins with the Courantyne River near Apoera. A plan for a dam in the river serving a hydroelectric power plant is part of the West Suriname Plan.-References:*Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993....
, and the construction of a harbour and an aluminium smelter at Apoera
Apoera
Apoera, also Apura, is a town in western Suriname. It is the final destination of the Southern East-West Link. north-west on the other side of the Courantyne River lies the Guyanese village of Orealla...
. The plan was the brainchild of former Surinamese Minister of Development Frank Essed.
Overview
In 1963, Operation GrasshopperOperation Grasshopper
Operation Grasshopper was a project to look for natural resources in Suriname from the air. For this project, seven airstrips were constructed in the interior of Suriname from 1959 onwards....
found bauxite deposits in the Bakhuis Mountains
Bakhuis Mountains
The Bakhuis Mountains are a mountain range in central Suriname, spanning 110 kilometres. The mountain range form of the Northern part of the Wilhelmina Mountains, and were named after the Dutch explorer and Royal Dutch East Indies Army officer Louis August Bakhuis.The Bakhuis Mountains have rich...
. Two years later, extensive explorations were conducted by Suralco and Billiton. After a commercial joint venture established by Reynolds Surinam Mines and Grasshopper Aluminium Company (Grassalco) failed to take off, the Surinamese government devised the West Suriname Plan to develop the region by the government.
False start
The Dutch government agreed to help execute the plan as part of the development subsidies to be given after SurinameSuriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
would gain independence in 1975. Between 1976 and 1978, a railroad track was constructed between Apoera and the Bakhuis Mountains by Morrison-Knudsen Co.. After the 1980 Surinamese coup d'état
1980 Surinamese coup d'état
The Surinamese coup d'état of 1980, usually referred to as the sergeants coup occurred on 25 February, when a group of sergeants of the Surinamese army took control of Suriname's government. The group declared the country to be a Socialist Republic, and stated that they would collectively run the...
Dutch development funds were frozen, and the project was cancelled. Low bauxite market prices in the 1980s also led to doubts about the economic feasibility of the project.
New plans
In the late 1990s, the West Suriname Plan was resurrected. On 6 January 2003, BHP BillitonBHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...
, Suralco, and the Surinamese government signed two memoranda of understanding
Memorandum of understanding
A memorandum of understanding is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used in cases where parties either do not imply a legal commitment or in...
to investigate the possibility of developing bauxite mining in West Suriname. Talks between the Surinamese government and BHP Billiton stranded in October 2008. Nevertheless, the Surinamese government continues to eager for the development Western Suriname, and posit that interest in the Bakhuis Mountains exploration has been expressed by companies in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.