A family operation in St Ann, Jamaica, that exports calcium carbonate, is looking to expand next year. Lydford Mining Company, is a 50-staff business turning over $2 million a year, reports the Jamaica Gleaner Online.

Lydford Mining hopes to increase production, partnering with Jamaica Producers Group to mine and produce river sand and gravel from the eastern St. Thomas area, potentially adding an additional $4 million to the company's bottom line next year.

Details of the structure of the deal have not been disclosed.

LMC has already has the crushing and screening facility to handle the aggregate meant to fill a supply gap in the local, regional and Southeast U.S. markets. Recently, LMC partnered with the New York-based TBS Mining/Shipping to produce and export high-quality limestone for use in coal-fired power plants around the world.

LMC says the first of these supply contracts has already been signed for the production and delivery of up to 400,000 metric tons per year, over 10 years, to a new power plant in the southeastern United States.

The mineral-extracting and processing business saw further expansion in 2006, facilitated by increased local demand in the construction industry for the crushing and screening of limestone aggregates for block-making and the supply of high-quality materials for roads and highway construction, including the Mount Rosser bypass project.

The company still is waiting for a $15 million investment from the government to help with its Lydford mines, as well as the Reynolds pier in Ocho Rios, from where it exports its products under a long-term lease. The company says it is contending that the approval delay is resulting in loss of business amounting to millions of dollars.

According to figures supplied by LMC, other regional producers are outstripping Jamaica's production and export levels by far. Mexico is said to export 7 million metric tons per year to the United States, with the Bahamas doing 6 million metric tons, while Jamaica exports only 70,000 metric tons a year, moving from the 1,500 metric tons it turned out in its first year of operation, reports the Jamaica Gleaner Online.