Dominican Republic looking to explore for rare earths with US support

Dominican President Luis Abinader said his government is exploring the possibility of expanding the Caribbean island's mining operations, specifically in rare earths, with the support of the US.

“The country has gold, silver and nickel, and it has had bauxite. Where there is bauxite, rare earth elements are often present,” the president said at the Latin America and Caribbean Infrastructure Investment Conference, hosted by Latin American development bank (CAF) in New York.

The government is looking into doing this exploration for rare earths with the US Army Corps of Engineers, he was quoted as saying by local media. 

“We are also very mindful of the international standards established for mining by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which we adopted in 2016.”

Abinader also highlighted the achievements of the Dominican economy in recent decades, with average annual economic growth of around 5%, reaching GDP of over US$130 billion, making it the seventh-largest economy in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The president added that macroeconomic stability has attracted investors to the favorable business climate in the country, resulting in a significant flow of foreign direct investment (FDI), which in recent years has been around 4% of GDP, one of the highest levels in the region.