Paranam | |
|---|---|
 Suralco bauxite factory at Paranam | |
  Paranam Location within Suriname | |
| Coordinates: 5°36′26″N55°5′24″W / 5.60722°N 55.09000°W | |
| Country |  Suriname |
| District | Para District |
| Resort | Oost |
| Time zone | UTC-3 (ART) |
Paranam is a town in the Para District, Suriname. Paranam was created in 1938 for a bauxite factory. In 1965, an aluminium smelter was added. The factories closed down in 2017.
There used to be a little hamlet called Klein Curaçao at the location. [1] Paranam was created in 1938 when Alcoa began building a plant to support new mining areas along the Suriname River. [1] Built on a former plantation, the facility was called Paranam after the Para and Suriname Rivers which border the mining concession areas. The Paranam mine began operations in 1941. [2] Alcoa operates worldwide through a joint ventures, and the operation in Suriname is called The Suriname Aluminum Company (or Suralco). [3] A market and theatre were built in town, however most workers remained in Paramaribo. [4]
In 1965, an aluminium smelter was opened in Paranam which operated on the electricity generated by the Afobaka Dam. [5] The smelter converts bauxite to produce approximately 3,150 metric tons of alumina each day at this location. [6] [7] Paranam became the first location in the world with an integrated system where the earth was transformed into aluminium. [8] In 2015, Alcoa announced that it was going to close the factories, because the local supplies were exhausted, and the factories could not handle the bauxite from the Bakhuis Mountains. [9] The factories closed down in 2017. [10]
Due to the deep water available on the Suriname River, Paranam is a port accessible to oceangoing ships. A pilot is required. [11]
The economy of Suriname was largely dependent upon the exports of aluminium oxide and small amounts of aluminium produced from bauxite mined in the country. However, after the departure of Alcoa, the economy depended on the exports of crude oil and gold. Suriname was ranked the 124th safest investment destination in the world in the March 2011 Euromoney Country Risk rankings.
Para is a district of northern Suriname. Para's capital city is Onverwacht, with other towns including Paranam, and Zanderij. Para has a population of 24,700 and an area of 5,393 km2. The district is the mining and forestry centre of Suriname, with many large bauxite mining operations operating. The district is a mixture of forest and savannas.
Moengo is a town in Suriname, located in the Marowijne district, between Paramaribo and the border town Albina on the Cottica River. Moengo is also a resort (municipality) in the district of Marowijne. Moengo was the capital of Marowijne District between 1932 and 1945. The current capital is Albina.
Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals is a joint venture between Alumina Limited and Alcoa and is abbreviated to AWAC. AWAC's business is the mining of bauxite, the extraction of alumina and the smelting of aluminium. It has about 25% of the global alumina market. Alcoa acts as the day-to-day manager.
The Brokopondo Reservoir, officially named Professor Doctor Ingenieur W. J. van Blommestein Meer, and also called the Brokopondostuwmeer, is a large reservoir in Suriname. It is named after the Surakarta-born Dutch hydrological engineer Willem Johan van Blommestein. With a surface area of approximately 1,560 km2 (600 sq mi), depending on the current water level, it is one of the largest reservoirs in the world, covering nearly one percent of the country.
Sarakreek is a resort in the gold mining region of Brokopondo District in Suriname. Its population at the 2012 census was 3,076. It is served by the Sarakreek Airstrip. The resort is named after the eponymous creek.
The West Suriname Plan was an economic development plan for the western part of Suriname. As originally conceived, it consists among others of the mining of bauxite in the Bakhuis Mountains, the building of a hydroelectric power plant on the Kabalebo River, and the construction of a harbour and an aluminium smelter at Apoera. The plan was the brainchild of former Surinamese Minister of Development Frank Essed.
Bakhuys is a village in the Kabalebo resort of the Sipaliwini District in Suriname. The village is located near the Bakhuis Mountains. Bakhuis is mainly known for its large bauxite mine which is exploited by Suralco. In 1995, the refinery had received a $120 million upgrade and extension. The village and mountain range have been named after Louis August Bakhuis who led a 1901 expedition into the area.
Ganzee is a former village in the Brokopondo District of Suriname. The village was home to Maroons of the Saramaka tribe, and located on the Suriname River. In 1965, the village was flooded after the construction of the Afobaka Dam.
Theresa Evelyne Leuwsha is a Surinamese Dutch writer.
Goslar is a German turbine steamboat, and was in service as a freighter. She was built in 1929 in Hamburg. On 5 September 1939, she surrendered in Suriname. On 10 May 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands, and the ship was scuttled by her crew. Attempts to remove the wreck in 1955 failed, and has resulted in the ship breaking in two parts.
Matta is an indigenous village of Lokono Amerindians in the resort of Zuid in the Para District in Suriname. The village can be accessed from a road which branches off the Southern East-West Link.
The Congress Hall is a convention and exhibition centre in Paramaribo, Suriname. It is located on Onafhankelijkheidsplein, and was completed in 1999.
Lilawatie Hélène Ramjiawan was a Surinamese children's book author. She became known in the 1990s with her short stories for young readers about the girl "Poek".
Onverdacht is a village in the resort of Zuid in the Para District of Suriname. Between 1941 and 2009, it was a bauxite mining town.
Clarence Breeveld was a Surinamese-born Dutch singer, guitarist and educator.
The history of Suriname during World War II was mainly focused on protecting the bauxite industry and guarding the borders with French Guiana which was part of Vichy France. From November 1941 onwards, 2,000 American troops were stationed in Suriname who transformed Airstrip Zanderij into a major airport, and constructed defensive works. No actual battles took place in Suriname. There was a political crisis in 1943, because Governor Johannes Kielstra used the state of emergency to imprison political opponents.
Ronald "Rudi" Elwin Kappel was a Surinamese pilot. He was one of the founders of Luchtvaartbedrijf Kappel-Van Eyck which is now called Surinam Airways, the first airline in Suriname. He also helped construct the Zorg en Hoop Airport, and the Rudi Kappel Airstrip. Kappel died in an air crash near Paloemeu.
Nieuw-Koffiekamp is a village in the resort of Brownsweg in the Brokopondo District of Suriname. It is a transmigration village built for the inhabitants of Koffiekamp which was flooded by the Brokopondo Reservoir after the construction of the Afobaka Dam.
