The government, through Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) recently awarded 18 mining exploration licenses to various companies and individuals for different types of metallic and non-metallic materials located in eight provinces of the country.
Economist Luis Vargas, an expert in hydrocarbons and energy, explained that these three-year exploration concessions, which are the initial phase for future extractions, It is surprising that such decisions are made at a time when there is no designated authority in the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources.
He explained that what the authorities should do is engage in dialogue about the necessary renegotiation of the exploitation agreement with the company Barrick Pueblo Viejo. He added that, given the rise in gold and silver prices in international markets, the country has no choice but to rethink the conditions of this agreement.
Vargas indicated that, before the country embarks on other explorations and evaluating the international context, it is necessary redefine what it considers a “discriminatory distribution” of added value against the workers and the country. He added that the participation of the communities surrounding the mine must also be redefined.
“We must have a technical discussion, an environmental discussion, of possible effects that they will see in the environment and natural resources and the creation of funds from mining exploitation that can contribute to the development of the country, the communities and the industry. mining.
He pointed out that, with the technological level reached, not necessarily all these projects are going to take place, but if it were necessary to strengthen the country from the technical point of view, of research, because generally these rest on large corporations.
define a plan
Regarding the 18 mining exploration concessions for three years, Vargas said that "apparently they are small companies"and added that this reflects the level of nervousness on the part of the Government in the face of a galloping crisis that is looming at the international level.
I affirm that the Government is irremediably obliged to redefine a planwhich he said does not have and has not elaborated, on how mining and energy (fuel) are going to be developed in the Dominican Republic and what is the environmental energy transition that is going to be developed.
“Until now, it has not even been discussed what we are going to do with these millions of vehicles that are destined to disappear and that work with conventional fuels, given the decision that after dismantling from 2035 this type of car imported by electric batteries because transportation can be developed based on hydrogen, solar and nuclear energy