On February 27, the President of the Republic highlighted the historical record achieved by mining Dominican Republic and assured that the exploration of rare earth progress with results “increasingly optimistic”, projecting itself as a future strategic source of income for the country.
During his presentation of accounts, the president reported that the mining sector exceeded the US$2,600 million in exports, a growth of 52% compared to the previous year, consolidating itself as one of the main generators of foreign currency.
In parallel, he referred to the rare earth exploration, minerals considered key for the manufacture of technologies such as cell phones, semiconductors, space industry and military applications.
“Every day we move forward, information about the quantity and quality of 17 elements that make up the so-called rare earths is more optimistic,” he stated.
As he explained, so far gross deposits greater than 150 million tons, with levels of purity and exploitation feasibility that he rated among the best in the world, backed by international laboratories.
He indicated that the formal determination of mining resources will be ready this year and that the certification of reserves will be completed in the first quarter of next year, after which the exploitation and refining phase would begin.
The president assured that, in addition to the strategic value that these minerals represent, the income derived from their exploitation could become the country’s main non-tax source of income.
Regarding foreign investment, he pointed out that between January and September mining attracted more than US$556 million, while the energy sector received more than US$1,010 million, both concentrating around 40% of the total foreign direct investment in that period.
