Study on Xstrata Nickel mine ready early April, UN rep says

Santo Domingo.- UN Development Program (UNDP) representative Valerie Julliand on Monday said its technicians already completed the field work on the feasibility study submitted by Xstrata Nickel Falcondo to exploit Loma Miranda (central).

She denied that the technicians, currently drafting the final report to present the study’s findings and recommendations in early April, respond to the Canadian miner’s interests, though admitted that some of them have provided consulting services to several of those companies.

"The mining sector is limited, there aren’t thousands of experts on these issues and at the request of the Government we’ve sought experts in different sectors. Yes, they’ve done work as independent consultants, but by no means are employed by those companies," the UN official said.

Julliand spoke after president Danilo Medina received International Labor Organization regional director for Latin America Virgilio Levaggi, and discussed the creation of 400,000 jobs.