Without ruling out the possibility of allowing mining to go ahead in Loma Miranda, the Minister of the Environment, Bautista Rojas Gomez, declared that the authorities would act in the country’s best interests when considering Falcondo’s application to mine resources in the La Vega area. At the same time, the Academy of Sciences reiterated its opposition to the proposal to extract nickel in the area. The Academy of Sciences has highlighted Falcondo’s negative track record when it comes to redressing environmental damage caused in its Bonao concession area.
Yesterday Tuesday, 18 February, the media published statements by the government’s Mining director Alexander Medina who supports authorizing Falcondo to mine in the area. Medina argues that 2,000 jobs will be saved and the government will receive significant tax revenue.
Medina said that Falcondo is only waiting for the approval of the environmental impact studies by the Ministry of Environment in order to start extracting nickel.
Rojas Gomez said that they were still waiting for terms of reference for the proposed mining of the area and once all the studies were completed and he had all the information they would decide how to proceed.