In today’s El Dia newspaper, Wednesday 5 June, residents in Bonao give their reactions to announcements that Falcondo Xstrata will cease operations in the country if a mining permit for Loma Miranda is not granted. Earlier this week, the Ministry of Environment denied the permit and rejected the arguments in the Environmental Impact Assessment presented by the company, but left the doors open for approval if conditions are met. “We are tired of so much pollution. Only people who work in Falcondo benefit, and more than 90% of people here do not work there,” Rafael Contreras, a fruit vendor told El Dia. Local residents say that pollution caused by the mining company from the extraction of ferronickel from Loma La Peguera has affected farming in the area. Mayor Alberto Marte Almanzar said that before Falcondo leaves it must pay for its environmental liabilities, estimated in hundreds of millions of dollars. He said that the people and the environment could not be sacrificed for a few jobs. “If they want to leave, they can go. Falcondo has done more harm than good to the community. It has been here for more than 42 years and all we can say it did was pollute,” said Juan Garcia, a motoconcho driver.
In a press release issued yesterday, Tuesday 4 June, the Swiss-based mining company Glencore Xstrata that operates Falcondo stated that they would study the Ministry of the Environment’s announcement. The company also indicated its willingness to cooperate in any way necessary in order to guarantee the socio-economic, environmental conditions and the mining technology to ensure that its operations were sustainable. Falcondo says that its impact assessment followed the guidelines provided by the Ministry of the Environment.