The Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources alleges that the social and economic conditions do not exist for the exploitation of Loma Miranda at this time. The Ministry has sent to the Superior Administrative Court a document that states that, for the moment, it has rejected the granting of an environmental permit that would allow for the exploitation of the area.
According to El Dia, the document was given to the court as part of the hearing of an appeal by the Justice and Transparency Foundation. The ministry said, in part, “that it has denied permission of the Loma Miranda project to obtain environmental authorization, until the socio-economic conditions and environmental issues and the proposed technologies used for the mining operation can be guaranteed to sustainably use the natural resources.”
Property owned by Falcondo in the mountains around La Vega would have been exploited for its mineral resources. But community, environmental and religious leaders objected to the exploitation, pointing to the company’s poor environmental track record in previous authorized exploitation areas.