27 Dec 2014 08: 21
Santo Domingo - The National Geological Service (SGN), the Ministry of Higher Education and universities from Spain and the USA announced in early December that the search for “rare earths” ores in the Sierra de Bahoruco, in the southwestern province of Pedernales, will start in January 2015 becomes.
The name of the rare earths comes from the actinides and lanthanide elements, which have similar ionic radii and are minerals that are almost impossible to separate, which is why they are so "rarely" used to this day. Bauxite is the premier global source of aluminum. Many of their deposits, which have accumulated in carbonate rocks, can be relatively rich in rare earths, say those in charge of the project that aroused local and international interest in finding and using the mineral.
Cited by local media, the researchers said that the project aimed to investigate the presence of rare earths in the bauxite of the Sierra de Bahoruco, a process that they estimate will take about four years to explore. The planned study was the first of its kind in the Caribbean. The results are of great value to the Dominican Republic, hence the assessment of the potential economic impact of bauxite as a source of high-tech metals, as well as the resulting scientific implications, said study director Australia Ramírez.
As part of the SGN team, geologist Jesus Rodriguez and the expert Gregorio Rosario will participate in the role of co-researchers. In addition, six specialists from Barcelona, one from Granada and one expert from the United States are involved in the investigations. This project is funded by the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Innovation and Development MESCYT.
For several years now, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines, Pelegrin Castillo, has called on the state to investigate the possible existence of rare earths in the bauxite deposits of Pedernales and other parts of the Republic. Even the director of the National Geological Survey, geologist Santiago Muñoz, expressed himself in this way even before assuming the leadership of the institution, so that this research also has a national scientific background.
The expected results of this research are of interest not only to mining companies exploring the elements of the "rare earths", but above all to the Dominican Republic as a country in which the project is being carried out. According to what has been said so far, the results will provide very precise information to create guidelines for the exploration and extraction of natural resources with strategic raw materials (high technology metals, HTM) in the country.
Source: http://www.karibik-news.com/news/3268-dominikanische- Republik-auf-der-suche-nach-seltener-erde-in-der-sierra-de-bahoruco.html
