Minister of Environment Bautista Rojas Gomez told the Senate yesterday, Tuesday 22 October that the ministry is following up on the recommendations made by the United Nations team of experts that called for more in-depth hydrological and biodiversity studies of the area and the presentation of an environmental management plan by Xstrata Nickel that has requested permission to mine mineral reserves in the La Vega mountain area. Environmentalists oppose the request on the grounds that there are important water reserves in the mountain and based on negative experiences with the effects of the company’s mining practices in Bonao province.
The Senate is studying a bill received from the Chamber of Deputies that seeks to declare the area a National Park. As a protected area, mining would be outlawed.
Minister Rojas Gomez said that he does not feel pressured by Falconbridge that says that the continuation of their operations in the Dominican Republic are conditional on a permit to mine in Loma Miranda being granted.