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TALESOFOLDPANAMAANDCASTILLADELORO
Vol.I,No.33August2020
TheIslandofDrNo:TheIndustrialHeritageofBonáIsland,Panama
StewartD.Redwood
Introduction
TheuninhabitedislandofBonáintheGulfofPanamahasanunusualindustrialhistoryshownby
anabandonedblacksandmineralstoragelagoonandthewreckageofashiploadingplantand
dockthatwasbuiltbyaJapanesecompanyalmostfiftyyearsago.WediscovereditinOctober
2009onasailingtripfromTabogatoBonáaboardtheyachtFlyingScud,aBeneteau44.The
expeditionmembersweremyself,mywifeMaite,JamesCobbett‐theowneroftheyacht,and
hiswifeMarilyn.Thederelictloadingcraneisvisiblefromseveralnauticalmilesawayasyou
approachtheisland,andthewreckageofthedockpartlyblockstheisland’sonlyanchorageand
landingbeach.JamesandIexploredthesitewiththeAvondinghyandonfootand,withour
combinedexperienceinminingengineeringandmininggeology,weworkedoutwhatthe
functionofthesitehadbeen.Wereckonedthatitwasasafeassumptionthatitwasthefirsttime
thattwoFellowsoftheInstitutionofMiningandMetallurgy(IMM)hadbeenontheislandatthe
sametime.WemadeasecondvisitinJanuary2010onasailingexpeditionfromPanamato
GolfitoinCostaRica,andscubadivedonthesite.
Wenicknamedthemysteriousindustrialsitethe“IslandofDr.No”afterthefirstJamesBond
film,wonderingifasatellitetracking‐dishwouldemergefrombelowtheminerallagoon.James,
revealinghisage,admittedtoseeingthefilmwhenitfirstcameout.
Bonáisanuninhabited
volcanicislandintheOtoque
IslandgroupintheGulfof
Panama,partofthe
MunicipalityofTaboga,
locatedat8°34’48”N,
79°35’38”W.Withanareaof
about1km2,itisasteep,
woodedisland205mhigh,
inhabitedbyaseabird
colony.Thereisalighthouse
onLosFarallónesrocksatthe
southerntip.Thenearest
villagesareOtoqueOriente
ThederelictloadingcraneonthewestsideofPuntadelMorro,andsite
ofberthingpontoonswherebulkcarriersloadedironoreforJapan.
(
PhotoS.Redwood
,
2009
)
.
TALESOFOLDPANAMAANDCASTILLADELORO
Vol.I,No.34August2020
andOtoqueOccidenteonoppositesidesofOtoqueIsland,about3.0kmnorth,andthenearest
pointofthemainlandis14kmtothenorthatPuntaChame.Theislandsarerarelyvisited,except
bypassingyachtsandfishermen.
Industrial Archaeology
Theplantislocatedonaflat‐lying,raisedpeninsulacalledPuntadelMorrothatformsahookat
thenortherntipofBoná.Thisprotectsasmallbayonthesouthsidethatisananchoragewitha
smallbeach,theonlylandingplaceontherockyshoreoftheisland,althoughitisnowfouledby
thewreckageofthedock.Thebeachwasusedbylandingcrafttounloadmaterialsandsupplies,
butonlyadinghycanlandtherenow.Thepeninsulaisoval,withdimensionsofabout175mE‐
Wby145m,andisflat‐toppedwithamaximumheightof36m.ItisconnectedtoBonábya
curvedspitoflandabout260mlong.Thereisanovergrownroadfromthebeachalongtheridge
andthenorthsideofthepeninsulatotheruinedpowerhousenorthoftheloadingcrane.
Theflattopofthepeninsulahasanearthenbermaroundittoformalagoon,whichisnowdry
andovergrownwithsmalltrees.Thisisfilledwithblacksandcomposedofmagnetite,aniron
BonáIsland satelliteimage,2002.
PuntadelMorro
LosFarallones
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Vol.I,No.35August2020
oxide.Thesandwaspumpedashoreasaslurryandstockpiledinthelagoonuntilreadytobe
loadedontobulkcarriersforshippingtoJapan.
Atthewestendofthelagoonthereisadrawdownpointintoatunnelabout20mlong.The
tunnelhasaconcreteportalandasemi‐circularprofilelinedwithcorrugatedsteel.Theblack
sandpassedoverthreevibratingscreenstodisaggregateitandontoaconveyorbelt,nowmissing
thebelt.Thescreensstillhavethemaker’snameplateshowingthattheyweremadeby
Stephens‐AdamsonofAurora,Illinois,USA.Jamesremarkedthattheequipmentwasrusted,but
wasnotwornbymuchuse.
Theconveyorbeltleadstoafour‐legged,A‐framegantryandthentotheloadingcranebuilton
therockfaceabovethesiteoftheloadingdock.Theloadingcranehasacircularbasesoitcould
rotate,butthecraneitselfhascollapsed,withamassofcableshangingfromthetopoftheA‐
frame.Thereisalargewinchwithgearsandsteelcabledrumatthetunnelportal.Theloader
wasprobablyatubethatcouldberaisedandloweredtofeedblacksandintotheships’holds.
Alongsidethecranethereisapipelinefromtheshoreuptothelagoonwhichwasusedtopump
sandslurryfromsmallboatsintothestoragelagoon.
Theloadingdockwasafloatingdockmadeofthreepontoonsattachedtotheshorebysteel
tubesandstruts.Theyacht’sechosoundershowedadepthof80to100feet(24‐30m)ofwater
PuntadelMorro,Boná,satelliteimage,2002.Theblacksandlagoonisclearlyvisible.
TALESOFOLDPANAMAANDCASTILLADELORO
Vol.I,No.36August2020
belowthecrane,sothatlargeshipscouldhaveberthedhere.Thereisnothingleftinplaceofthe
loadingdock.Underwaterwefoundalotofgirders,cables,drumsandalargesteelassembly,but
wedidn’tdivebelow60feet(18m)asthewreckageposedahazard,andthewaterwascoldand
hadlowvisibility,typicalofplankton‐richupwellingconditionsinthedryseason.Thepontoons
andtubularsupportswithrubberflangeswereleftbeachedinthebay,andaremostlycovered
athightide.Underwaternearbythereisalonggantry.Northoftheloaderthereisaconcrete
pontoonsupportontherock.Therearealsomooringhooksforship’shawserssetinconcreteon
therocksatthecornersofthepeninsula,northandsouthoftheloader.
Iestimatethatshipsupto200mlongcouldhaveberthedatBoná.JapaneseHandymaxbulk
carriershaveacapacityof52,000to58,000tonnesdeadweight(dwt),andalengthupto190m.
Theroadfromthebeacharoundthenorthsideofthepeninsula,about600mlong,terminates
justnorthofthegantry,andafewmetersbelowthebermofthelagoon.Herethereisaconcrete
buildingthathousedthreedieselgenerators,whichhavebeenremoved,leavingonlythebig
electricalswitchboards.However,nofuelstoragetankswerefound.Therearethreeempty
roomswhichprobablyservedasofficesorbunkhouses.
History
Aftersomeresearch,thehistoryofBonáwasrevealedtomebyProfessorAkiraTanaka,Professor
ofJapaneseEconomicHistoryatNagoyaCityUniversity,Japan(Tanabe,1982,p.411).The
PanamaironoresandprojectwasoperatedbyHierroPanama,S.A,a50‐50jointventure
betweenMineraChameS.A.andSumitomoCorporation50%.Theironoresandwasshipped
fromBonáusinga“Type75Vessel”.Thefirstshipmentwasmadein1972andcontinuedtothe
fourth,foratotalof75,000metrictons.However,therewasanaccidentonthefourthshipment,
and“thevesselequipmentcollapsed”.“Weattemptedtoreconstructitbutforeconomic
reasons,weterminatedtheprojectinJuly1972.”TheironorewaspurchasedbyShinnittetsu
with54,000tons,andSumitomokinzoku(SumitomoMetal)with19,000tons.
ThegeopoliticalbackgroundisdescribedinapaperbyProfessorTanaka(2005),“WhyWereThe
SogoShoshaNeeded?”.Japanbecameamajorimporterofironorefortherapidindustrialization
afterWorldWar2fromthemid‐1950suntiltheearly‐1970s.Steelproductionrosefrom9million
metrictons(Mt)in1955to119Mtin1973.Japanesecompaniessearchedtheworldforironore
deposits,anddiscoveredandminedironoreinAustralia,Asia,Africa,IndiaandNorthAmerica.
Thiswascarriedoutbysixmajorgeneraltradingcompaniescalledsogoshosha,mostofwhich
arefamiliarnamesstillinminingandotherindustries–Sumitomo,Mitsui,Mitsubishi,Marubeni,
C.ItohandNisshoIwai.In1970theExport‐ImportBankofJapanfinanced744millionYen(about
US$2.5million)foranironsandprojectinPanama(Boná).
TALESOFOLDPANAMAANDCASTILLADELORO
Vol.I,No.37August2020
ItracedoneoftheoriginalJapanese
workersontheBonáproject,Shuji
"Joe"Wakasugi,livinginCalifornia,
andinterviewedhimbyemailthrough
hisdaughterKyo.Heconfirmedwhat
wehadworkedoutaboutthe
functionoftheplant.
“MyfatherworkedonBonácirca
1972‐1973.Hewaspartofaproject
thatwasajointventurebetweenthe
JapanesetradingcompanySumitomo
andHierroPanamaS.A.These
companiesenlistedthehelpoftwo
Japanesecompanies:SankiIndustrialprovidedmachineryandOkazakiKogyo(basedinOsaka,
Japan)wasinchargeofconstruction.Myfatherwasoneofthecivilengineersthatbuiltthe
stockyard.
“SumitomousedIslaBonátostocktheblackironsandthatcamefromGorgonaBeach.Gorgona
BeachwastooshallowforthetankerstoaccessandthereforeBonáwasusedasapick‐upspot
fortheblackironsandwhichwasshippedbacktoJapan.MyfatherbelievesthatIslaBonáwas
usedforthispurposeuntilthejobwascompletedandthensimplyabandoned.
“Theydidnotseparateanything.Therewasnoprocessingplant.Itwassimplyastockyard.He
believestheysimplyexporteditasironore.
“Theengineerslivedontopofthehill,mostlikelyintheoffices/dormitoriesthatyoufound.The
workersstayedinbungalowsbuiltonthelowerpartoftheislandnearthebay.Myfatherusually
stayedontheislandforaweekandthenwouldgotoPanamaCityforaweektopickupsupplies
(food,toolsetc.)beforereturningtotheIsland.
“Theworkersusuallyonlystayedfor2‐3monthsandthenwouldswitchwithanothercrew
arrivingfromJapan.Theconditionswereverytoughfortheworkersastherewasnorunning
waterontheisland.TheyhiredayoungmanwhoownedaboattotraveltoOtoquetopickup
drinkingwatereachday.Theengineeringteammyfatherwasonstayedforalittleoverayear.
Otheremployees,suchastechnicianswouldonlystayacoupleofmonths.
Therotatingbaseoftheloadingcrane,with OtoqueIsland
beyond.(PhotoS.Redwood,2009).
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Vol.I,No.38August2020
“TheyusedLCVPboats
[LandingCraft,Vehicle,
Personnel]totransportpretty
mucheverything.Theywould
loadeverythingfromPunta
Paitilla[attherampinthe
MarinePark]inPanama.They
wouldarriveathightideand
thenwaituntillowtideto
unloadeverything.The
engineersandexecutivesused
aspeedboatcalledtheBlack
SandPrimerotomoveback
andforth.
“Myfatherdesignedthe
mineralloadingtunnelandwasinterestedtoseethatitwasstillstanding!
“Onasidenote,whenmyfatherwasnotontheislandhestayedattheHotelGranadainPanama
City.Hewasalsowonderingifyouperhapsknowifitstillexists.”Iassuredthemthatitisstill
thereandthatIusedthecarparkeverymonthIwhenwenttogetmyhaircutatBarberiaLuis’
barber‐shoponthecorner,whichwasprobablythereinhistime.“Hegotakickoutofthehotel
stillbeingthere!Thisexchangehasbeenveryinterestingforbothmyfatherandmyself!”
JaimeRoquebert,aretiredPanamaniangeologistandaformerDirectoroftheNational
DirectorateofMineralResources(DirecciónNacionaldeRecursosMinerals,DNRM)wasclosely
involvedintheBonáproject.HewassenttoJapanasthePanamanianGovernment’s
representativeaftertheaccidentoccurred.Atthetimehewasayoungfieldgeologistand
Japaneseprotocolexpectedamuchhigherlevelofrepresentative.However,hewascloserto
Japanthananyofhissuperiors,beinginIstanbulonaUNcourse,andwasinstructedtomakehis
waytoKyoto.Onarrivaltherewerenonationalflightsavailableandhehadtotravelbytrainin
thirdclass,whichtheJapanesewereveryapologeticabout.Overlunch,heexplainedthatthe
magnetiteheavysandswereminedfromGorgonaBeachoffshoreusingasuctiondredgewithan
electromagnet.TheywerestockpiledonthebeachthenperiodicallyshippedtoBonábyasmall
sanddredgervessel.TheloadingpieratBonáwasafloatingpierinthreesections.TheDNRM
warnedtheJapanesethatthecurrentsandwindsatBonácanbestrongandrecommendeda
mooring‐loadingbuoyinstead,butthiswasnotdone.Theshipswerecoal‐carrierscomingfrom
Theovergrown,blacksand(magnetite)lagoonstockpileontopofthe
peninsula.(PhotoS.Redwood,2009).
TALESOFOLDPANAMAANDCASTILLADELORO
Vol.I,No.39August2020
theeastcoastoftheUnitedStates
withpartialloadswhichwerethen
toppedupwith25,000tonnesof
magnetitesandatBoná,taking
advantageofaspecialcanaltarifffor
partialloads.Atotalof75,000metric
tonsofmagnetitesandwasexported
inthreeshipments.However,onthe
fourthshipmentstrongwindsblew
theorecarrierheavilyagainstthe
floatingpierandbadlydamagedit.It
wasdeterminednottobe
economicaltorepairthepierandthe
operationwasabandoned.
Summary
TheruinedplantatPuntadelMorroatthenortherntipofBonáIslandwasastorageandship
loadingplantformagnetitesand(blacksand)ironore.Theblacksandwasminedunderwater
fromGorgonaBeach,25kmtothewest,usingasuctionsanddredger.Themagnetitewas
probablyseparatedfromthesandatGorgonausinganelectromagnet,becausethereisno
mineralseparationequipmentatBoná.Inaddition,myexaminationoftheoreshowedthatitis
apuremagnetiteconcentratewithnoothermineralssuchasilmenitepresent,andthatitishigh
gradeironorewithatheoreticalironcontentofupto72.4%.TheblacksandwasbroughttoBoná
insmallsandboatsandwaspumpedashoreasaslurryintothestoragelagoonontheflattopof
thepeninsula.NominingorprocessingwascarriedoutatBonáitself.Theblacksandwasdrawn
downfromthelagoonintoashorttunnel,passedthroughvibratingscreenstodisaggregateit
andseparateanydebrissuchasstonesorwood,anddepositedontoaconveyorbelt.Thiscarried
theblacksandtoaloadinggantrywhereitwasloadeddirectlyintotheholdsofbulkcarrierships
forexporttoJapan.TheshipswereprobablyJapaneseHandymaxbulkcarrierswithacapacityof
52,000to58,000dwt,andalengthupto190m.Theseberthedatfloatingpontoonsbelowthe
loadingcraneindeepwaterclosetotherockface.
TheplantwasoperatedbyHierroPanamaS.A.,a50‐50ajointventurebetweenSumitomo
CorporationofJapanandMineraChameS.A.ItwasbuiltbyJapaneseengineersin1971.It
operatedin1972andthreeshipmentsofironoretotalling75,000metrictonsweremadeto
Japan.Anaccidentoccurredonthefourthshipmentwhentheshipwasblownagainstthe
Thederelictoreloadingarm,conveyor, pulleyandcables.
(PhotoS.Redwood,2009).
TALESOFOLDPANAMAANDCASTILLADELORO
Vol.I,No.310August2020
pontoonsbystrongwindsandbadlydamagedthepontoons.Itwasdeterminedtobetoo
expensivetorepair,andtheprojectwasabandonedinJuly1972.
Bonáisaveryunusual,ifnotuniqueplacetobuildamineralstorageandloadingplant.Itwas
chosenbecauseofdeepwaterforalargeship‐loadingfacility,therebeingnoportsforvesselsof
thissizeonthemainlandexceptinBalboa,butwithoutthistypeofloadingfacility.Italsohad
spaceformineralstorage,aswellasbeingclosetotheminingarea.Thedisadvantagesofthesite
werethatitisremoteanduninhabitedwithnowaterorpower.
Sources
ThanksareduetoProfessorAkiraTanaka,NagoyaCityUniversity,Nagoya,Japan;Shuji"Joe"
WakasugiandKyoWakasugi,southernCalifornia;IizukaFumie,Panamafortranslating;andthe
lateJaimeRoquebert,Panama.
Tanabe,S.,1982.TetsuyoEienni:NipponTekkoGenryo‐shi,Jokan(Japanese:Iron,Forever:
HistoryofJapan’sIronMaterials,Vol.1).SangyoShimbunsha.
Tanaka,A.,2005.WhyWereSogoShoshaNeeded?Japan’sDevelop‐and‐ImportSchemeofIron
Oreinthe1960s.DiscussionPapersinEconomicsNo.409,NagoyaCityUniversity,Nagoya,Japan,
28p.
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Vol.I,No.311August2020
A:Bonáfromthenorth.B:PuntadelMorro,Boná.Theheavymineralsandswerestoredinalagoonontop
oftheflatpeninsula.Theruinedloadinggantryisontheleft.C:LosFarallóneslighthouseatthesouthendof
Boná.D:Thewreckedloadingcraneandslurrypipe.E:Threepontoonsandtubularsupportarmsabandoned
inthebay.F:Wreckedpontoonsandsupports.(PhotosS.Redwood,2009).
A
B
C D
E F
TALESOFOLDPANAMAANDCASTILLADELORO
Vol.I,No.312August2020
A:TheFlyingScu
d
atanchoratBoná.B:AtrickylandingforJamesCobbettintheAvondinghyontherocks
belowthepeninsula.C:Thetunnelandconveyorbeltframe.D:Thevibratingscreens.E:Thetunnel
entranceandconveyorbelt.F:JamesCobbettinspectsthewinchandcabledrum.(PhotosS.Redwood,
2009
)
.
AB
CD
EF