"Dominican Communities Reject Canadian Mining Project, Halt GoldQuest’s Romero Operation", 13 May 2025

...The Dominican Republic’s National Popular Coordinator (CPN) has denounced that Canadian mining companie...GoldQuest['s]...exploration and exploitation permits...threaten the sustainability of hundreds of communities in the Cordillera Central, a vital water source and agricultural region known as the “Granary of the South,” as popular protests have successfully forced a pause on GoldQuest’s Romero gold and copper project...

The Romero project proposed underground gold and copper extraction in Hondo Valle, within the Cordillera Central, a zone critical for the country’s water supply and food production of beans, corn, and rice.... Communities also dennounce persecution of residents who reported that GoldQuest continued operating despite opposition...

GoldQuest had presented three mitigation measures: dry tailings technology (which reduces but does not eliminate dam failure risks), underground ventilation fans to reduce surface noise, and 67,000 trees planted in the San Juan River basin. However, restoration ecologists argue that the ecosystem services of a mature forest cannot be replaced by young plantations, as a forest takes centuries to mature while a mine exhausts reserves in about eight years.

The company also holds exploration rights to 14 adjacent areas covering over 209 million square meters near José del Carmen Ramírez National Park...

GoldQuest responded by reaffirming its commitment to “responsible and transparent” development and said it would continue working on its Environmental Impact Study...