We’d leave within 5 years if denied mine permit, Xstrata warns

Santo Domingo. – The mining company Xstrata Nickel Falcondo will shutter Dominican Republic operations in less than five years if it doesn’t get the go ahead to exploit Loma Miranda, in central La Vega province, senior executives warned Thursday.

Xstrata Dominican Republic general manager Jose Luis Lopez said the company’s operations are subject to the Environment Ministry’s approval of the environmental impact study submitted by the company, which he affirms shows that mining is feasible and won’t cause major damage to the region’s ecology.

He said the company has mined ferronickel in nearby Bonao for more than 40 years complying with all the requirements stipulated in the country’s environmental laws without a single complaint neither ecological nor of other type of disaster .

Lopez spoke at the offices of the Engineers, Architects and Surveyors Guild (CODIA) in an activity hosted by the Dominican Geology Society.