The Minister of Energy and Mines, Antonio Almonte, defended the government's commitment to mineral exploration and exploitation in the country (metallic and non-metallic).
He specified that these are processes that take time and that involve million-dollar investments.
The official referred to the issue during his participation in the Weekly Lunch of the Corripio Communications Group.
Asked about the Romero mining project, in San Juan de la Maguana , he reiterated that the environmental impact study is pending, which is going to determine if the project has merits or not.
“One of the challenges facing the country is how to reconcile the exploitation of mineral resources with conflicts, movements and uprisings that take place in some regions. In the case of San Juan de la Maguana, we are talking about the church, we are talking about groups of professionals, youth, producers, politicians who support and reject it,” Almonte said.
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In this context, he added that the solution is not a decree , but rather a process that involves analysis and studies. He pondered the importance of achieving consensus among all sectors.
"The social license is an element of mining risk worldwide and here they are presented in some requests, we are handling it with the purpose of achieving a consensus," he said.
According to Dominican law, in order for mining projects to be developed, several stages must be exhausted, including exploration, economic feasibility studies, environmental and social studies, and then, based on this evidence, grant the development permit for the project. project.
The GoldQuest company is waiting for permits to carry out environmental impact studies. It is a mining company listed on the Toronto stock market, with Canadian, American and Swiss investors.
De su lado, Miguel Daz, viceministro de Minas, detall que en el pas hay 25 proyectos en exploracin, y precisar que el proceso de estudio puede durar entre 6 y 10 aos, porque son investigaciones a largo plazo.
De cada 100 exploraciones metlicas, una o dos llegan al proceso de explotacin; el 98 por ciento se queda en el camino por diferentes razones.
De acuerdo a lo explicado estos procesos de investigacin pueden llegar a costar hasta 30 millones de dlares.
En otro orden, el ministro de Energa y Minas, Antonio Almonte, habl sobre los procesos que llevan a cabo para garantizar mayores niveles de transparencia institucional. En ese contexto hizo referencia a las licitaciones internacionales a realizar.