Sufiname Economic Memorandum
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ReportNo. 5283-SUR Sufiname EconomicMemorandum OnTwo Volumes) Volume II: Sector Reviews Public Disclosure Authorized January16, 11985 LatinAmerica and the CaribbeanRegional Office FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Public Disclosure Authorized I,- - - - .f~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I- . - -- - . - 0~~~~ ~ Public Disclosure Authorized Documentof the WorldBank Public Disclosure Authorized This eoths a restricteddistribution . -:; ' - . - and may be usedby recipients - . - ' - . - .~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ onlyin theperformance of their offidal duties- Its contents may not othierwise N.-disclosed without World Bank authorizatio n. CURRENCYEQUIVALENTS Currency Unit: Suriname Guilder Exchange Rate Prior to December 27, 1971 US$1.000 = Sur.f. 1.885 Sur.f. 1.000 = US$0.531 Exchange Rate fxom December 27, 1971 to Present US$1.000 = Sur.f. 1.785 Sur.f. 1.000 = US$0.560 FOR OICIAL USE ONLY SURINAME: VOLUXEII TABLE OF CONTENTS I* MINING ............... A. Mining Sector: Role and Struicture ......................... 1 B. Bauxite Subsector ............... .......... 6 C. Bakhuis P.roject ..........................................................29 D. Gold Subsector ***9*******e*s***......... .............**... we. 44 E. Other Metals and Minerals .................................. 58 F. Sector Organization: Legal and Fiscal Environmeut ......... 62 G. Mining Sector Issues .................... ..... , 68 Mining: Attachment I ......................................... 82 Attachment II................................... 85 Attachment III ........................................ 132 II. AGRICULTURE ....... o...........9........................... ................0 174 A. Economic Performance ...... ******....*.**. S... S***.......*..e 174 B. Major Agricultural Activities .............................. 176 C. Pricing Policy and Marketing ............................... 181 D. Major AgriculturalInstitutions ................... ......... 184 E. Agriculture Sector Issues .................................. 187 F. Prospects and Recommendations ................ .............. -198 Agriculture: Statistical Appendix (Tables I to 14) ............ 202 HII. ENERGY .................................... 218 A. Energy Resources, Import Substitution and Conservation .oe& 218 B. Sector Organization .... we....... ... 224 C. The Oil and Gas Subsector. ...... .. ........ 226 D. The Electric Power Subsector ................................ 229 E. Demand Projections ........... 0.*... 235 P. Projection of Investment Requirements . 237 G. Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations ................ 239 Energy: Annexes 1 to 9 .......................................... 242 Thi document has a resticted distributionand may be used by recipients only in the performansc of ftir official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be discosed without World Bank authorization. I. MINING A. MINING SECTOR ROLE AND STRUCTURE The Mining Sector in the Economy of Suriname 1.01 Bauxite mining and associated processing, including alumina refining, aluminum smelting and the production of non-metallurgical bauxite is the main industrial activity in Suriname. Poaer generation is closely associated with it because of the relatively high power consumptions at the alumina refinery and the smelter. In fact, the only hydroelectric generating plant in the country was built by 1965 at Afobalca on the Suriname river as a result of the Brokopondo agreement, signed in 1958 between the Government of Suriname and Suralco, one of the two foreign companies then mining bauxite in the country. 1.02 As there is practically no other mining activity than bauxite mining and processing, economic statistics relative to mining can, for all practical purposes, be equated to bauxite related operations. Table 1 shows that, while the sector represented 18.2% of GDP in 1979, its weight dropped to 11.7% in 1983 (at constant 1973 prices, the drop is from 15.5% to 9.5Z over the same years). Table 1: SECTORAL ORIGIN OF GDP AT FACrOR COST, 19 79-83 (millions of Suriname Guilders) 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 Current Prices Agriculture & Forestry 156 174 198 213 206 Mining and bauxite Processing 261 273 282 261 244 Industry 113 131 181 198 209 Gas, water, electricity 33 37 36 39 39 Government 313 318 379 474 519 All other 558 602 709 802 873 GDP (factor cost) 1434 1535 1785 1987 2090 Real Terms (1973 prices) Mining and bauxite processing 119 104 92 78 77 Government 198 194 202 220 230 All other 450 444 483 492 500 GDP (factor cost) 767 742 777 790 807 1.03 It is probable that, after a limited recovery in 1984, the mining share of the GDP will deteriorate slightly further in 1985 and 1986. 1.04 The foreign exchange impact of the sector is illustrated in Table 2 below (data provided by the Research Department of the Central Bank of Suriname). 3- Table 2; BALANC(OF PAYME; SHAREOF TdE BfAUXCESUBSECDR 198D0-1983 (cah basis, mUioas of Siuriame guiders) 1980 L981 1982 X 1983 Total bauxite Tbtal bauxite Total bauxite Tbtal bawdte Cwrent acunt 1. 1rckandise Exports 918.2 754.1 845.7 675.5 765.1 601.9 296.2 218.0 Imports (900.3) (297.8) (1013.7 (294.2) (921.2) (218.4) (377.8) (78.3) Balance of trade 17.9 456.3 (168.0) 381.3 (156.1) 383.5 (81.6) 139.7 2. Services Receipts 176.0 .7 164.1 .3 144.4 - 50.7 1.2 i9peoditure.s (278.9) (42.6) (244.4) (39.4) (269.6) (31.7) (114..9) (16.4) Balance of services (102.9) (41.9) (80.3) (39.1) (125.2) (31.7) (64.2) (15.2) 3. Pri:exy Income Receipts 45.7 1.9 64.7 .9 63.9 .1 19.0 .2 cpesxiLtures (76.4) (57.4) (41.7) (31.00 (51.6) (35.1) (46.3) (42.1) Balance (30.7) (55.5) 23.0 (30.1) 12.3 (35.0) (27.3) (41.9) 4. Privaw transfers Heceipts 34.3 - 26.8 - 20.6 - 8.5 - 1i--peadLtures # (22.6) (2.9) (20.2) (3.2) (25.3) (3.7) (16.0) (1.9) Balance 11.7 (2.9) 6.6 (3.2) (4.7) (3.7) (7.5) (1.9) BMALN OF CUeMREACXUULcs (104.0) 356.O (218.7) 308.9 (273.7) 313.1 (180.6) 80.7 CaDiLtal acmua 5. Private capitaL 33.0 13.0 71.4 55.8 33.7 (21.0) 59.6 60.3 6. Grats 131.6 - 169.0 - 172.9 - 3.7 - 7. Goersnmt (4.1) - .3 - .4 - 1.5 - B&ANCE OF CAPIEALADNXfJ 160.5 13.0 240.7 55.8 207.0 (21.0) 64.8 60.3 Uwcaswified 1.4 - (.1) - (.1) - 2.4 - B&ANE OFTOTAL AJO&S 57.9 369.0 21.9 364.7 (66.8) 292.1 (113.4) 141.0 On a current accounts basis and annualizing the 1983 data, receipts from the sector in that year would be 438.8 million SF (247.9 million US dollars) against expenditures of 277.4 million SF (156.7 million US dollars) for a net balance of 161.4 million SF (91.1 million US dollars). Bauxite and related exports would represent 74X of total merchandise exports; ia 1978, this percentage was 82%. The dominance of the sector on the balance of payments account is obvious: in the first half of 1983 the sector balance was 80.7 million SF versus minus 261.3 million SF for the rest of the economy on current accounts while, otl total accounts, the com- parable numbers were 141.0 million SF and minus 254.4 million SF, respec- tively. 1.05 The identified bauxite deposits are numerous; they are reviewed in some detail in the next section but it should be noted however that proven mineable resources (i.e. which can be iainedunder present economic condicions) are on the order of 200 million tons if the Bakhuis area is included and 130 million tons otherwise. The figure of 1 billion tons which is sometimes quoted includes iron laterites which are of no economic value for the foreseeable future. 1.06 There are two deposits presently mined, one near Moengo in Iastern Suriname's coastal plain, the other ia Paranam on the Suriname river; both are of high quality, but the Paranam deposit is buried under clayish sediments and has a very high stripping ratio (presently about 4 or 5 to I in volume). The Bakhuis orebody in Western Suriname has been prospected extensively. A project for the development of an integrated industry around it, which would have included an alumina refinery and a smelter, both powered by the KabaLebo dam project, was considered very seriously in the late seventies but has been shelved. A 74 km railroad was built in 79-82 to transport the ore from Bakhuis to Apoera on the Corantyne river, but is presently unused. The issues related to the Bakhuis deposit are discussed in the last part of this report. 1.07 Two foreign companies are engaged in mining and processing bauxite. Suriname Aluminum Company (Suralco), a wholly owned subsidiary of Aluminum Compaay of America (Alcoa, USA), was founded in 1916 and opened the Hoengo mine in 19l0; it also opened the Lelydorp mines near Paranam in 1941. The Brokopondo agreement was signed in 1958 and the related alumina refinery, with a design capacity of 600,000 dlTPY,was started in 1965, to- gether with a small aluminum smelter of 70,000 LITPYcapacity. The company now mines about 2.2 million tons of bauxite. The refinery capacity has reached 1.4 million i4TPY through additions and improvements; the smelter cannot produce more than 40,000 I4TPY on average because of inflow limita- tions at the dam. *fheComnpany also produced refractory grade bauxite in Paranam until 1982. 1.08 N.Y. Billiton Maatschappij (Billiton) is a wholly owned subsi- diary of Billiton, itself owned by Royal Dutch Shell (Nederlands/UK),which started operating concessions adjacent to those of Suralco in 1941. Billiton operates the Para mine, near Paranam, which produces presently about 1.8 million tons of bauxite, 1.3 million tons of which were converted to alumina in Suralco's refinery under a tolling agreement until the end of 1983. 1.09 A major restructuriag took place in late 1983 and was finalized in early 1984. Suraico and Billtoa hiavenow formed a joint venture for mining, with 76% of the equity to Billiton and 24% to Suralco; the joint venture now operates only the former Billiton mine at Para, which is cheaper to mine than Lelydorp because of a large stripping advance.