Dominican Republic seeks to ride gold mining boom

Amid the good prospects for gold prices, and after a year in which mining was key to boosting the Dominican Republic's economy, companies in the sector are keen to advance their projects.

During 2024, mining in the Caribbean country contributed 1.4% of GDP and represented 43.3% of exports, according to mining and petroleum chamber Camiperd.

Nearly 12bn pesos (US$194mn) in taxes were collected from mining last year, 58% more than in 2023, when production fell.  

The government of Luis Abinader is very interested in expanding the mining industry. He created state company Minera Dominicana to explore and exploit strategic mining resources, such as rare earths, which are key to clean technologies and electronic devices.

BNamericas looks at the main Dominican Republic mining projects, all of which are gold-focused. 

Following US President Donald Trump's threats to increase tariffs on imports, investors have flocked to the safe haven of gold, with the price topping US$2,800/oz for the first time last Friday.

1. Pueblo Viejo expansion

Owners: Barrick Gold (60%) and Newmont (40%)

This US$2.1bn project, which is ramping up, aims to guarantee operations beyond 2040 and maintain annual production at around 800,000oz.

The processing plant expansion to 12Mt/y has resulted in better recoveries and last year’s output is estimated at 758,300oz.

New drilling is in the pipeline and work to upgrade areas such as milling, water and cooling systems will continue during this year. Pueblo Viejo, located 100km from capital Santo Domingo, is the largest gold mine in Latin America.

2. Romero/Tireo

Owner: GoldQuest Mining

The Romero underground project involves an initial investment of US$158mn to mine two deposits with processing capacity of 2,800t/d.

Average annual production is put at 109,000oz of gold equivalent for 7.3 years. Construction is expected to begin in 2026. 

Currently, environmental permits are being processed and this year GoldQuest plans to continue exploration and begin the feasibility study.

In the same province of San Juan, the firm has the Tireo project, where initial work carried out in 2014-16 indicated high potential for gold and copper. However, the current focus is on Romero.

3. Neita

Owner: Unigold

This project was divided into two parts: Neita Norte, which is ready for exploration through a joint venture with Barrick Gold, and Neita Sur, where a mining license is being processed.

For Neita Sur's development, Unigold carried out a feasibility study in 2022 for the Candelones area.

Unigold expects to begin community consultations in Q2 and complete the environmental impact assessment in 2026.

The oxide potential at Candelones would allow annual production of between 30,000oz and 40,000oz over three or four years through a heap leach operation.

Unigold also has plans to mine sulfide resources in the Candelones deposit through underground mining, with the goal of producing 75,000oz/y over a useful life of 8-10 years. This would become a second project.

4. Pueblo Grande 

Owners: Precipitate Gold and Barrick Gold

During the first half of this year, the companies will carry out drilling as part of the project that encompasses Pueblo Grande Norte and Pueblo Grande Sur.

Through a US$22mn agreement, Barrick can obtain a 70% stake in the project.

The commitment includes delivering a prefeasibility study before 2030 and for Barrick to cover at least 30% of the construction costs of the mine.

5. Juan de Herrera

Owner: Precipitate Gold

This project is considered to have good prospects for gold and copper deposits due to its proximity to the Romero initiative. Precipitate intends to advance permitting to identify new targets in the concession area covering 12,746ha.

6. Ponton

Owner: Precipitate Gold

Like Juan de Herrera, Precipitate plans to continue drilling at this property, which is located 25km from Pueblo Viejo.