Trading of Canada’s Goldquest Mining Corp. is scheduled to resume Tuesday after the Dominican Republic halted development of its Romero gold mine project in the wake of mass protests.
President Luis Abinader late Monday said his administration had “listened with attention, respect and responsibility” to community concerns about the project and was suspending all work at the site in western Dominican Republic.
Goldquest didn’t immediately return a request for comment outside of regular business hours. But on Monday, before the government’s announcement, the Toronto-based company said in a statement it was committed to “the responsible and transparent development of the Romero Project.”
The company has said the 3,997-hectare concession had probable reserves of 840,000 ounces of gold, 980,000 ounces of silver and 136 million pounds of copper.
The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization halted trading of the stock on the TSX Venture Exchange midday Monday after the shares had dropped more than 17 per cent. The halt was lifted on Tuesday morning, allowing the shares to resume trading when the market opens at 9:30 a.m. local time.
Abinader’s decision came after hundreds of people protested the project over the weekend citing concerns it would damage soil and water.
Abinader said the mining concession had been granted in 2005 and ratified again in 2010. But he said that under his administration the project had never moved beyond the environmental evaluation phase.
“My commitment is to the country, its people and their future,” he said.
