# Dominican Republic Natural Resources Explained 2026

> Dominican Republic's gold exports hit $2.39 billion in 2026 as rare earths and oil exploration advance.
- Title: Dominican Republic Natural Resources Explained 2026 | Shortify
- Summary: Dominican Republic's gold exports hit $2.39 billion in 2026 as rare earths and oil exploration advance. Dominican Republic's gold exports reached $2.39…
- Keywords: dominican republic, gold exports, rare earths, pueblo viejo, mining law, cormidom, larimar, oil imports, fuel imports, cacao exports, rice production, forests
- Source: The Rio Times — https://riotimesonline.com/dominican-republic-natural-resources-explained-2026
- Author: Rocco Caldero
- Published: 2026-10-20T14:32:45+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: dominican republic, gold exports, rare earths, pueblo viejo, mining law, cormidom, larimar, oil imports, fuel imports, cacao exports, rice production, forests
## Key Facts
Gold is the Dominican Republic’s top export at US$2.39 billion from January to September 2026, while rare earths, oil and a new mining law are all still unfinished.
## Why it matters
One mine, Pueblo Viejo, owned 60% by Barrick and 40% by Newmont, paid the state US$649 million in taxes in 2025, so mining income rests on a few assets.
## The numbers
Mining exports hit a record US$2.59 billion in 2025, forests cover 46.7% of the land, and fuel imports were US$3.50 billion from January to September 2025.
## Who is who
Energy and Mines Minister Joel Santos oversees mining and oil, Barrick runs Pueblo Viejo with Newmont, and Cormidom mines copper and zinc at Cerro de Maimón.
## What to watch
A first rare earth resource determination for Pedernales is due in November 2026, and the first reserves are expected in the first half of 2027.
## What it means for you
US investors reach the country through Newmont and Barrick, US suppliers sell 81.8% of its fuel imports, and Washington has signed a critical minerals cooperation framework with Santo Domingo.
## Gold and Pueblo Viejo
Pueblo Viejo sits in Sánchez Ramírez province, about 100 km northwest of Santo Domingo, and Pueblo Viejo Dominicana operates it.
## Pueblo Viejo Tax Payments
Its president, Gisselle Valera, told a Santo Domingo industry conference that it paid US$649 million in taxes in 2025.
## Pueblo Viejo Expansion
Barrick is spending about US$2.6 billion on a life of mine extension, with US$1.301 billion spent by 30 June 2026.
## Larimar and Other Minerals
Larimar, a blue stone mined in Barahona and named the national stone in 2011, supports about 800 miners.
## Rare Earths in Pedernales
The Ministry of Energy and Mines said on 14 September 2026 that more than 5,000 results had been analysed.
## Oil, Gas and Fuel Imports
Fuel imports were US$3.5 billion from January to September 2025, 1.4% less than a year earlier.
## Farmland and Rice
Domestic farms produced 14.78 million quintals of rice in 2025, up 5.24%, supplying about 96% of the 15.44 million quintals consumed.
## Water and Forests
Forest covered 46.7% of land in 2024, about 22,575 square kilometres, with reforestation planting over 12 million trees in 2023 and 2024.
## Who Profits and What It Costs Nature
Foreign companies hold the biggest mines: Barrick and Newmont at Pueblo Viejo and Cormidom at Cerro de Maimón.
## What It Means for US Readers
US suppliers sold 81.8% of the country’s fuel imports from January to September 2025, and Washington has signed a critical minerals cooperation framework.
## Key takeaway

Dominican Republic's gold exports reached $2.39 billion from January to September 2026, with rare earths exploration expected in November 2026.