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http://open.salon.com/blog/ezili_danto/2010/01/22/did_mining_and_oil_drilling_trigger_the_haiti_earthquake

In a power-point presentation to attract “smart, optimistic business partners and investors,” one of the mining companies currently digging quarries in Haiti, wrote:  [actually recently defunct because of lawsuits]

Haitian quarries can…
Dominate this industry in northern Caribbean
Provide a springboard to Cuba when timing is right
Most promising quarry areas in Cuba”
“are on SE coast, adjacent to NW Haiti

Haiti is built of…
High-grade limestone, still rising from the Caribbean seafloor
Plus other important rock types
“old African’ crustal rock, like Colorado Rockies
later volcanic rocks, basalts and granites
in great demand for US and Caribbean engineering projects

“Remarkably Pure”
Famous American geologist Wendell Woodring, USGS
surveyed Haiti in 1923-24 on foot and with donkeys
wrote most authoritative study to date on geology of Haiti
described certain Haitian limestone as “remarkably pure.”
Sent lignite samples to US for testing

Limestone?
Basic industrial commodity
Construction aggregates
Cement production
Industrial and agricultural minerals
Virtually inelastic demand, even during recessions
Demand is function of population: ~9 tons/person/year in USA (according to USGS)
Steady increase due to new industrial, agricultural, medical uses
China growth affecting all commodities markets; commodities prices rising
Important for infrastructure development in Haiti and elsewhere in Caribbean

Haiti has formidable advantages:

Proximity to dynamic markets
Hard-working, tenacious people anxious for jobs
Special US legal and tax considerations under CBERA/CBI, new HERO act

Haiti: 38% more coastline than Dominican Republic
Haiti has 1,771 km of coastline vs. DR’s 1,288 *

Haiti’s 2nd most important resource: Location
Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, DR, Cayman Islands, Lesser Antilles
Cuba in a few more years?
Most comparable US location: Chicago
************************ False Stereotype 1: “tiny island nation’
Reality: Haiti, with 27,560 sq km of land mass, is 3rd largest nation in the Caribbean

Haiti: Big Country for the Caribbean
La Selle massif rises 2700 meters above sea level Port-au-Prince
(almost 9000 feet)
Compares to 14,300 ft Mt. Evans above “mile-high’ Denver
(~ 9000 ft)
************************

False Stereotype 2: “Haiti is so overcrowded’
Reality: Low population density compared to her crowded neighbors
Large rural areas are virtually unpopulated “Haitian Outback’
Neither barren nor lifeless as hysterical news stories claim!
*********************** False Stereotype 3: “Haiti has no resources’
Truth: Important natural resources are largely undeveloped:

Facts: Haiti has better long-term prospects than much of the West Indies”
where over-dependence on tourism limits opportunity
Strong opportunities for diversified natural resource development”
“and modern, environmentally sound, industrialization
Local value-add, e.g. precast & prestress concrete
Agro-chemicals and industrial minerals manufacture.
(See, Matraco-Colorado Haiti Venture -A Power-Point Presentation.)