Mining Dominican Republic
Rizik, Roberto and García, Hipólito (2009)
LATINLAWYER Reference – Mining 2009.
LATINLAWYER would like to thank contributing editors Richard Brach & Carolina Walther-Meade of Milbank for their invaluable assistance in devising the questionnaire for this section, and for writing its introduction.
Dominican Republic
Roberto Rizik and Hipólito García
Headrick Rizik Alvarez & Fernández.
1P rovide a overview of the mining industry in your country. What significance does the mining industry have as a component of the national economy? As per information available at the internet sites of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, and the General Mining Directorate, mining activities in the Dominican Republic focus mainly on mining of ferronickel. The Dominican Republic has a very active mineral exploration sector, with the mining of minerals, both metallic and non-metallic, being an important aspect of the economy. The dominant producer is Falconbridge Dominicana,
which mines nickel deposits in the Bonao area of central Dominican Republic as well as feasibility studies being carried out by Pueblo Viejo Dominican Corporation for the development of mineral reserves at the Pueblo Viejo mine in the Cotui area. The government sees the mining industry as representing one of the main sources for socio-economic development of the Dominican Republic. Government policy concerning said industry is geared towards the protection of the environment and the integration of affected communities to the mining projects.
The major mining opportunities in the Dominican Republic are found in ferronickel, marble, salt and plaster, construction aggregates (such as limestone), gold and silver. From the official statistics published by the Central Bank, the mining industry represented for closing 2008, 0.48 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product. According to the Central Bank’s available data, income from the mining industry totalled over 1.5 billion Dominican Republic pesos from the total Gross Domestic Product of 331 billion Dominican Republic pesos.
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