SANTO DOMINGO — The Dominican Republic’s mining industry emerged as the fastest-growing segment of the national economy in the first quarter of 2026, posting a 7.7% year-over-year expansion that outpaced broader economic gains, according to Energy and Mines Minister Joel Santos. Preliminary figures released by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic put the country’s overall first-quarter economic growth at 4.1%, marking the mining sector’s outperformance by more than 3.5 percentage points. Minister Santos attributed the sector’s robust growth to elevated extraction volumes of key commodities including gold, silver, and construction-grade materials, a trend that has cemented mining’s standing as one of the nation’s leading export-driven industries. The sector closed 2025 on a strong note, with total export values exceeding $2.5 billion, and total tax contributions to the national government hitting roughly 45 billion Dominican pesos, providing substantial support to public coffers. Alongside the strong performance of mining, the minister also reported solid 3.4% growth for the broader energy sector across the first three months of 2026. This expansion has been fueled by rising domestic and commercial demand for electricity, paired with ongoing large-scale upgrades to the Dominican Republic’s national power infrastructure. Since 2020, the country’s total installed power generation capacity has jumped significantly, climbing from just 4,921 megawatts to more than 7,100 megawatts by the end of 2025. Renewable energy projects account for a large portion of this new capacity buildout, advancing the country’s goal of energy market diversification. Minister Santos highlighted ongoing strategic projects that are shaping the future of the nation’s energy sector, including the Manzanillo Power Land initiative and the rollout of expanded battery energy storage systems. These investments are designed to boost grid reliability, reduce dependence on single energy sources, and create a more resilient national power network. Looking ahead, Santos emphasized that both the mining and energy sectors will remain core pillars of the Dominican Republic’s economic strategy, continuing to draw foreign and domestic investment, shore up public finances, and support long-term, sustained economic growth across the country.