Speaking at the National Minerals Power breakfast at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in St Andrew last week, director of PowerGen, Norman Davis, said mining was an industry in which Jamaica has a natural competitive advantage.

"There are six essential building blocks of commerce and industry - iron ore, salt, sulphur, petroleum, coal and limestone/lime," Davis said.

Jamaica has 50 to 60 billion tonnes located in reserves right across the face of the island. Limestone covers up to 85 per cent of Jamaica's surface and accounts for 65 per cent of its weight.

Limestone, in one form or another, is a component of a plethora of products used all over the world.

Its applications abound in several sectors, including the tourism, pharmaceuticals and baking industries, as well as directly in the manufacture of roads, cement, construction blocks, paint, pipes and many other products.

Kirk Kennedy, executive director of investment promotion at Jamaica Trade and Invest, believes in the ability of limestone to help Jamaica stay afloat in spite of the world economic downturn.

"As a country, we have been blessed with abundant, high-quality mineral reserves," Kennedy said. "Now is as appropriate a time as any to pool our resources together, both financially and otherwise, in exploiting these resources for our own benefit."