The Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic. Photo by Rineke Coumans/MiningWatch Canada.

A Canadian-operated gold mine in the Dominican Republic is facing growing opposition from communities who say that their water, health, and livelihoods have been harmed by years of mining operations. Another Canadian company is seeking approval for a new mine near the Haitian border, raising fears that similar impacts could extend into communities in the neighbouring country.

This week, two community leaders from the Dominican Republic and Haiti are bringing these concerns directly to Ottawa, calling attention to the consequences of Canadian mining investment abroad and demanding action from the federal government.

Both projects are at critical junctures. Canadian mining giant Barrick is pursuing a major expansion of its Pueblo Viejo gold mine despite longstanding community demands for relocation and environmental protection. Meanwhile, Toronto-based Unigold is seeking permits to develop its proposed Neita gold project near the Haitian border, where locals fear that mining could threaten shared water resources in a region already facing severe humanitarian and environmental pressures.

Pueblo Viejo: A warning from communities living with mining

Located in the Dominican Republic’s Sánchez Ramírez province, Pueblo Viejo is Latin America’s largest open-pit gold mine. Operated by Barrick in partnership with US-based Newmont, it began production in 2012 and has generated vast quantities of mining waste. This includes rock that can release harmful sulphuric acids and metals into the environment, as well as tailings, a slurry of finely ground rock, water, and chemical residues left over from gold processing.

Mining is a major contributor to the Dominican Republic’s economy, with mineral exports reaching a record US$2.59 billion in 2025, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the country’s total merchandise exports.

For more than a decade, communities living downstream from the existing tailings dam have reported water contamination, air pollution, damage to crops and livestock, and serious health concerns. Residents have described an alarming range of health problems, including persistent skin lesions, respiratory difficulties, and exposure to toxic metals. At Barrick’s 2018 annual general meeting, a community advocate reported that more than 150 residents, including children, had developed skin lesions, while blood tests on 23 people had revealed elevated levels of zinc, lead, and chromium. Residents also reported the deaths of thousands of livestock and losses to local cacao production. Approximately 450 families across five communities have demanded relocation to a safer environment. Residents have depended on bottled drinking water since 2011.

Despite these impacts, Barrick is advancing an expansion that would extend mining operations beyond 2040. Central to the project is a new tailings storage facility at El Naranjo, designed to hold hundreds of millions of tonnes of additional mining waste. Its........

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