The Dominican government recently created Emidom, a public entity entrusted with the exploitation of Rare Earth Elements (REE) found in the province of Pedernales. Pedernales is also a province now prepped for touristic development.
According to Science Direct: “Karst bauxites from the Pedernales Peninsula in the Dominican Republic stand among the world’s richest in REE.“ The bauxite ore from two deposits from the bauxite district, Aceitillar and El Turco, are noted for their outstanding REE contents and contrasting mineralogy.
REEs’ peculiar physical and chemical properties make them crucial for many critical technologies, including high-performance permanent magnets, high-efficiency batteries for electric and hybrid-electric cars, x-ray and other medical imaging, fluoresce light production, aircraft engines manufacturing, glass and ceramic industry.
There are not many deposits of REE around the world. But the exploitation comes with many of the negatives of mining in general. Sources warn that rare earths are mined by digging vast open pits in the ground, which can contaminate the environment and disrupt ecosystems. When poorly regulated, mining can produce wastewater ponds filled with acids, heavy metals and radioactive material that might leak into groundwater. Processing the raw ore into a form useful to make magnets and other tech is a lengthy effort that takes large amounts of water and potentially toxic chemicals, and produces voluminous waste.
Now as reported in Listin Diario, the United States has initiated a partnership with the Dominican Republic to explore rare earth deposits in the border province of Pedernales. The mining development comes to the border region with Haiti as the government steps up efforts to turn it into a pivotal hub for the country’s technological and economic advancement.
Dominican mining engineer Ramón Alburquerque revealed that these rare earths have attracted the attention of global economic powerhouses, including Taiwan, the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturer. This international interest underscores the strategic importance of these materials in the development of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence.
A former president of the Senate and the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), Alburquerque is a graduate in chemical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines (1974).
Alburquerque explained that these elements, formerly known as “oxides,” possess unique magnetic properties essential for creating devices such as smartphones, televisions, robots, and spacecraft.
Engineer Alburquerque hailed the discovery of these deposits in Pedernales as a “blessing” for the country. He emphasized the need for ongoing, well-planned work, utilizing advanced technology to determine the geometry of the deposit, the nature of the metals present, and the exact quantity of resources available.
Only after these preliminary studies can a feasibility analysis be conducted to determine the best way to extract and utilize these valuable resources.
The presence of rare earths in Pedernales was first revealed in 2016 through a study conducted by economist Luis Humberto Vargas and experts Scarlet García Caro and Roberto Mallén Brea, who published their findings in the “Energy and Mining Barometer,” La Propuesta Digital explains. This report, commissioned by the Data and Research Department of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, highlighted the mining potential of the Dominican-Haitian border zone. This discovery, now backed by international collaboration, opens new opportunities for the Dominican Republic as it pursues industrialization and advanced technological development.
Read more:
La Propuesta Digital
Science News
Institute for Policy issues
Science Direct
Fotuto
YouTube Ramon Alburquerque conference
DR1 News
28 August 2024