Current authorities are working with the sector to learn about pending approval projects for the exploitation of mining resources
The contributions of mining to the economy in the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine have shown that it is one of the sectors with the greatest resilience in crisis situations.
The president of the Oil Mining Chamber of the Dominican Republic (Camipe), Pedro Esteva, affirmed that the mining companies knew how to adapt their operations with sanitary measures and protocols to continue operating during the pandemic. And the crisis situation has favored the sector, increasing the international prices of minerals.
He stressed that the country must continue with mining as one of its economic pillars and that the current authorities are working with the sector to learn about pending approval projects for the exploitation of mining resources. He said that he hopes that these projects will be approved without further delay.
Esteva mentioned that among the pending projects is the expansion of Barrick Gold, that of Falcondo towards Loma Miranda, and that of Goldquest in San Juan de la Maguana. Also that of the Canadian mining company Precipitate Gold, also in San Juan.
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He stated that the country currently receives significant amounts of foreign currency from exports of gold, nickel and copper.
He stressed that these are non-renewable resources and it is important that exploration and mining permits be expedited, so that the country continues to maintain the extraction and foreign exchange generation figures for this sector, but this taking into account the laws and regulations in force.
He said that of every 100 exploration projects, only two are feasible and this is determined in a period of up to more than five years.
“There are some cases in which an exploration permit has taken years and even changes of government.” expressed the president of Camipe when participating in the Economic Meeting of TODAY.
He revealed that drilling into the subsoil with a diamond tip costs US$250,000 to evaluate the minerals, and many international companies have stopped their work because they have seen that others have their processes paralyzed in the hands of the authorities.
Country falls in indicator
Esteva revealed that as a result of these delays in exploration and extraction permits, the Dominican Republic could be affected in the 2020 Fraser Institute Annual Survey of Mining Companies that analyzes exploration, development, and other mining-related companies throughout the world.
This survey assesses the effects of mineral endowment and public policy factors; such as taxes and regulation on investments in exploration. The president of Camipe explained that there are other regulations that cut across the sector, such as land and water planning laws.
He said that the mining law 146-71 is good and has managed to attract the most important investments, but there are opportunities for improvement, for example, updating the roles of the entities since there is now a Ministry of Energy and Mines.
Esteva stated that speeding up these permits, according to what the law says, would allow the country to have a strong position against these countries.
Mining: More contribution to the communities
The president of Camipe highlighted that President Luis Abinader said that they are studying different ways to make the contribution of mining to the treasury be delivered in greater quantity in the communities where the companies operate. He stated that the country is a signatory to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
