Both the government-intervened Listin Diario and the El Caribe report that the Dominican government has signed a contract with an Australian company, Lagunas Limited, to exploit the Pueblo Viejo gold mine in Cotui. The contract guarantees the government benefits of US$50 million dollars over an eleven year, six month period. According to the Listin Diario, five percent of the profits will go to the Sanchez Ramirez province. The contract was signed by Sonia Guzman de Hernandez, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, and Brian Johnson, president of Lagunas Limited. The Australian company will exploit the trailings dam of Lagunas, which is part of the sulfides mined by Rosario Dominicana. The yearly working of one million tons of trailings will produce 94,740 ounces of gold and 943,810 ounces of silver, as well as 4,371 tons of zinc. The Australian company will use the Albion Process patented by Mount Isa Mining of Australia. This process will serve to lower the environmental problems associated with the production of so much sulfuric acid.
According to Pedro Vasquez Chavez, the Director of Mining, the handling of the trailings will be environmentally sound and permit the restoration of the bio-systems of the area. While Placer Dome had originally won the contract, they lacked the sophisticated technology of handling the trailings in an environmentally safe manner.