Dominican mining law ‘must attract foreign investors’

Press Release
Santo Domingo.- The president of the Roundtable of the Commonwealth Countries in the Dominican Republic, Fernando González Nicolás, asked the legislators on Tuesday that, before approving the bill to reform the mining law, they make sure to reach a consensus to guarantee that it is an instrument that effectively attracts foreign investors.
He said that the revision of the laws are extremely delicate processes that, if not handled with due caution, are devastating to attract resources for mining in the future, so he considered it essential that this reform project be agreed with international investors. that they are the ones that will finally decide the operations of the companies of that branch.
“Mining is a long-term industry that requires considerable resources for its development and the regulations established by the countries are decisive in attracting these investments, said González Nicolás.
He noted that “in the countries of the Commonwealth, such as Canada, Great Britain, Australia, South Africa among others, are the main mining companies in the world, which are characterized by being responsible, since they are strictly regulated by international financial organizations and protection of the environment.”
He added that “we at the Board of the Commonwealth warned about the implications of the modernization processes of mining laws, and we insisted on the need to reach consensus and take into account the opinion of investors.
It is regrettable to affirm that the Dominican Republic has lowered its index as an attractive destination for mining investment. In March, the Fraiser Institute’s annual report significantly lowered the country’s attractiveness index as a destination. This institute is recognized by investment spheres worldwide.
Finally, the President of the Board of the Commonwealth recalled that mining is currently one of the main columns on which the Dominican economy is sustained. “Being the main line of exports that our country has to generate the foreign exchange that the stability of the Dominican economy requires. For example, in the first quarter of 2020, gold-only exports turned out to be 42.9% of total Dominican exports.”