Dominican Rep's gold exports drop nearly 20% in Jan-Nov

The Dominican Republic’s gold exports were worth US$1.21bn in January to November, down 18.1% year-on-year, while ferronickel exports rose 25.7% to US$497mn, according to the latest data from export and investment promotion agency ProDominicana.

Gold and ferronickel ranked first and sixth in total exports in the period.

The drop in gold exports partly reflects weaker prices after touching an all-time high of US$2,052/oz in March amid the geopolitical crisis and the hawkish monetary policy of the US Federal Reserve, which strengthened the US dollar as a safe haven.

In all 2021, gold and ferronickel exports amounted to US$2bn, ProDominicana said. Last year, the country also exported silver worth US$65.7mn and copper worth US$45.2mn, along with smaller amounts of bauxite, limestone, zinc and other minerals, according to central bank data.

ROMERO

This week, Canada’s GoldQuest presented details of its Romero project in San Juan province to business leaders, according to local newspaper El Nuevo Diario. 

"Betting on the growth and development of San Juan, we offer the province a 13% share of the mine's income, which means some 5.4bn pesos [US$96mn] for the province in the first eight years of operation in addition to about 20bn pesos that the operation would contribute to the Dominican State," said GoldQuest CEO Luis Santana.

The Caribbean country’s Pueblo Viejo mine, Latin America’s top gold producer, produced about 813,000oz last year, with 60%-owner Barrick Gold’s share at 488,000oz.

Other mining companies in the Dominican Republic include Americano Nickel with the Falcondo nickel mine.