He larimara semi-precious stone that only exists in the Dominican Republic, obtained the International Registry of the Denomination of Origin Larimar Barahonaa distinctive that guarantees its origin, increases its worth and gives you legal protection in 28 countries against appropriation, falsification or alteration.
The certification represents not only an important step in the international recognition of its authenticity -increasing its price-, but will also promote the formalization of a dynamic internal market on which some 2,500 families and 1,000 miners.
The director of Mining Promotion of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, Golye Latoufeassured that this is “the main challenge“for those who make up the value chain of the larimara gem whose manual extraction for use in crafts and jewelry has taken just over fifty years.
“There is a new market which will now be unlocked from the designation of originand it’s not that you are going to have the obligation. You will be able to sell with or without (her), but sell with designation of origin It’s going to be worth a lot more,” he highlighted.
Countries like USAGermany, England and Italy are some destinations for pectolite, whose exports they exceeded 230,000 pounds between January and September of this year, doubling the 95,480 pounds shipped in 2024, according to ministry data.
The sale of larimar in it local market depends on your prosecutionweight and color – which varies between shades of whitish, greenish or intense blue, with white and reddish nuances. Raw, the stone has a price that averages 4,000 pesos per pound.
The Dominican Republic has a single larimar mine, located in Barahona. This has 90 stone extraction points, whose reserves have not yet been able to be quantified.
“The geological model to quantify the larimar is unique and we have been studying, taking steps to begin those surveys that will give us an account of, more or less, how much it is at a scientific level,” said the expert.
However, as the extraction techniques are artisanal and rudimentary, it is estimated that the impact on the deposit is minimal, so the country would have larimar available “for a long time.”
The configuration of the mine is as unique as the gem, which means that the deposit can become a potential destination for visitors to learn what the larimar extraction process is like, which requires safety parameters, promotion and change in the culture of the miners (the main people who frequent it) that is still under analysis by the ministry.
Components
Minersartisans, merchants, jewelry designers and exporters who want to have this international seal must certifysince this guarantees the product authenticity from its extraction to the final arrival to its buyers, whether semi-processed or processed, which also ensures its worth.
“No one will be able to attribute the origin of our stone; it will add additional value”Director of Mining Promotion of the Ministry of Energy and Mines.
Each one can acquire it through a record for each activity, which will be organized through a regulatory councilin charge of issuing the designation of origin.
This regularization -explains Latoufe- it takes time, so the issuance of the first certifications They will be announced soon. Meanwhile, the ministry has exhausted training days with miners and artisans who range from good sustainable practices in stone management to financial management.
Every November 22, the Dominican Republic celebrates National Larimar Day, declared by Law 17-18 of 2018 with the objective of commemorating and promoting the unique origin of the gem and its commercialization, discovered for the first time in 1916 and declared a national stone in 2011.
Throughout the year, the Mining Promotion Directorate of the Ministry of Energy and Mines (which has an office in the larimar mine, in Barahona) promotes, through training and support, good practices and the development of small-scale miners and artisans, both in larimar and in other areas such as amber, alluvial gold, marble and other minerals.
