The Bakhuis Mountains () are a mountain range in central
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
, spanning 110 kilometres. The mountain range form of the Northern part of the
Wilhelmina Mountains, and the mountains and its village were named after the
Dutch explorer and
Royal Dutch East Indies Army officer . It is situated in the
Sipaliwini Savanna District of Suriname. The
Bakhuys Airstrip
Bakhuys Airstrip is an airstrip near the village of Bakhuys and the Bakhuys Mountains (''Bakhuys Gebergte'') in Suriname. There is rising terrain to the south.
Charters and destinations
Charter Airlines serving this airport are:
See also ...
is nearby the village.
The Bakhuis Mountains have rich deposits of
bauxite
Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...
, as well as
nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...
and
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
. In 1974, a new mineral named ((Mg, Fe
2+)
3Al
4BeSi
3O
16) was found in the mountain range. The Bakhuis mountain range is an area of 2800 km² and contains a large concession area for mining bauxite, in which both the Surinamese company and foreign exploitation companies are interested. Ecologists fear destruction of jungle area when the mining commences.
In the second half of the 20th century there was already a plan to economically exploit the area: the
West Suriname Plan
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 ...
, centered on the mining of bauxite in the Bakhuis Mountains. After Suriname became independent of the Netherlands in the 1980s, however, the implementation of this plan was discontinued. A specially built railway line was built in 1972, connecting the Bakhuis Mountains with
Apoera
Apoera, also Apura, is a town in western Suriname. The village has a population of 777 people as of 2020. 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 ...
, however the railway line was never put into use and was abandoned in 2002.
[{{cite web, url=https://www.internationalsteam.co.uk/trains/surinam05.htm , title=West Suriname Railway, Apoera, website=International Steam, access-date=6 May 2021]
References
Mountain ranges of Suriname