Caribbean & Central America - October 2012 (ISSN 1741-4458)

The recent re-opening of the Dominican Republic (DR)’s largest gold mine, with the biggest single private investment in the country’s history (US$3.8bn) and renewed interest from foreign mining companies seeking to expand their operations has revived familiar concerns from environmentalists and local communities affected.

After 13 years of inactivity, the Pueblo Viejo gold mine, located near the town of Cotuí in the central province of Sánchez Ramírez, achieved its first gold production on 14 August, with ore now being processed. Last in production between 1975 and 1999, when it was operated by the state-owned mining company, Rosario Dominicana, the mine closed due to high processing costs, later achieving notoriety for its environmental damages. In 2006 the mine’s exploitation rights were acquired by leading Canadian gold mining firms, Barrick Gold and Goldcorp, which believe that it holds as much as 25.3m ounces of gold, making it one of the world’s largest deposits. Barrick, the majority owner with a 60% stake, promised to conduct an extensive clean-up of the mine before resuming operations using new mining techniques that would make it environmentally safe.

As with other large-scale mining projects, Pueblo Viejo has been very controversial. Following its closure, environmental groups highlighted that its mineral wastes had seeped underground, contaminating not only the soil but also the local water resources. This had a devastating effect on the nearby mountain villages which were (and still are) almost exclusively dependent on agriculture. Environmentalists have expressed considerable concern about the fact that Barrick’s operation involves gold extraction methods that use cyanide, which would have even more devastating effects if it were to enter the local water system. Yet, these warnings have, by and large, been dismissed by the government and Sánchez Ramírez residents, won over by Barrick’s claims that the mine will boost the local economy and create thousands of jobs. A January 2012 study by Barrick estimates that the project will account for 2.4%-2.9% of the country’s GDP in the first ten years (assuming a long-term gold price of US$1,400 an ounce).

Mining concerns are not limited to the Pueblo Viejo project. On 16 August, hundreds of demonstrators marched to the presidential palace in Santo Domingo calling on the new government of President Danilo Medina to ban any further mining activity in the country’s central mountain range, the Cordillera Central (see sidebar). The march was organised by various civil society groups, including the national environmental assembly and the national committee against mega mining, which pointed out that there are currently some 200 mining concession in the Cordillera Central and warned that exploitation of these concessions would amount to “ecocide”. Organisers said that the march was triggered by plans unveiled by local subsidiary of mining giant Xstrata, Falcondo XStrata Nickel, to open a large ferronickel mine at Loma Miranda, La Vega province just west of Sánchez Ramírez.

The demonstrators were received by the deputy minister of the presidency, Henry Molina, who promised to pass on their concerns to Medina. The demonstration also received the backing of Senator Félix Nova, the head of the senate’s environmental commission, who has urged Medina to heed their call. The Santo Domingo march was followed by another staged in Cotuí on 27 September, where participants demanded more job opportunities at Pueblo Viejo. The protesters complained that many of the 2,000 jobs created so far have gone either to people from other provinces or foreigners. The demonstrators were confronted by the police as they attempted to enter the mine resulting in violent clashes which left 40 people wounded. Such unrest will only up the pressure on the Medina government to address these concerns.

• The ‘Dominican Alps’

The Cordillera Central, commonly referred to as the ‘Dominican Alps’ due to its cool temperature and scenic vistas, is the highest mountain range in the West Indies and home to the highest peaks in the Caribbean: Pico Duarte (3,098 metres), La Pelona (3,094m), La Rucilla (3,049m) and Pico Yaque (2,760m). The range stretches from Haiti’s Massif du Nord across western Dominican Republic, gradually bending southwards towards the Caribbean coastal plains in San Cristóbal province. It is the source of the majority of country’s rivers including the Yaque del Norte and the Yuna which irrigate the fertile Cibao valley in the northern DR, the country’s most productive agricultural area.