President Danilo Medina chose legislator Pelegrin Castillo Seman as the country’s first Minister of Energy and Mines. Mining previously fell under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. To take the position, Castillo will need to resign from his elected post as legislator. The Constitution specifically prohibits an active legislator to assume another government position.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines was recently created and President Medina has instructed the new ministry to focus on mining for the next two years. The Medina administration has been seen as pro-mining in its first two years, as a record number of concessions and facilities for exploration have been awarded to several international mining companies.
Castillo is an advocate for petroleum exploration for the country but has stated that a better legal framework is necessary to attract better companies.
President Medina used the Decree 141-14 to appoint several deputy ministers that will serve under Castillo.
The new deputy ministers are Alberto Veloz, Deputy Minister for Energy; Antonio Herrera, Deputy Minister for Energy and Infrastructure and Victoriano Santos, Deputy Minister for Governmental Energy Saving. Also Alberto Radhames Reyes Sanchez was named Deputy Minister for Hydrocarbons and will serve with the newly appointed deputy ministers Edgar Mejia Butten (Mines) and Enrique Peynado (Nuclear Energy).
Castillo had presided over the commissions of industry and commerce and energy and mines in the chamber of deputies. Castillo has been an advocate of opening talks to reach fundamental agreements for the development of mining in the country. He has been very vocal about responsible mining and has said that mining is not the greatest risk to the environment, but rather poverty and exclusion.
The Medina administration has been a strong backer of increased mining in the Dominican Republic through the appointment of director of Mines, Alexander Medina. Alexander Medina has been criticized as acting more on behalf of the mining companies than the interests of the country.
In the DR, in general, with the exception of the Barrick Gold and Loma Miranda (Xstrata Falcondo) cases, mining has been low profile industry. There is little reported locally on the operations of Barrick Gold itself, Unigold, Goldquest, Everton and Marvex, among other companies.
http://www.listindiario.com/economia-y-negocios/2013/3/11/269123/Inversionistas-se-interesan-por-potencial-minero-de-RD