The Mineral Industries of the Dominican Republic and Haiti in 2009
Haiti occupies the western part of the island of Hispaniola. the country had at times produced cement, clays, limestone, marble, marine salt, sand and gravel, and other construction materials. There were also known deposits of chromite, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, manganese, silver, sulfur, tin, and zinc. although Haiti possesses similar economic mineral deposits as the Dominican Republic, which had developed a relatively more prosperous mining industry, political and economic instability had precluded significant private sector investment and development activity in Haiti into the early to mid-2000s. by 2008, however, Eurasian minerals inc. had reported that the mineralized zone in Haiti was one of the most prospective, though not well-explored, mineral belts in the world (Eurasian minerals, inc., 2008c). The Institut Haïtien de Statistique et d’informatique (Haitian Statistical institute) (iHSi) estimated that the real GDP growth rate in Haiti for 2009 was 2.9% compared with 0.8% in 2008, which was the same year that Haiti was stricken by four damaging hurricanes and experienced food and fuel price riots, and the world economies were experiencing a global recession. the positive growth in 2009 was attributed to an improved business climate brought on by political stability and strengthened private and public sector partnerships. consumption and demand were reported to have grown by 3.9% and 3.2%, respectively, in 2009 compared with 2008; the growth was attributed to the Government’s efforts to repair and rebuild infrastructure damaged by hurricanes, private sector growth among such industries as construction and tourism, as well as a slight growth in the funds sent to Haiti from Haitian emigrees (institut Haitien de Statistique et d’informatique, 2009). In February 2009, the executive board of the international Monetary Fund (IMF) approved $36.6 million in financial assistance to Haiti through a program called the poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (a lending program for low-income countries) to mitigate the negative effects caused by the hurricanes and global economic downturn. an immediate disbursement of $35.8 million was to be received by Haiti. on June 30, 2009, the board announced that it would grant $1.2 billion in debt relief to the country, reportedly to free up money for the Government to spend on health, education, and fighting poverty (International Monetary Fund, 2010a, b).
