Big hopes for mining in Haiti fail to pan out amid concerns over regulation

CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti (AP) — The 50-year-old man from the village scrambled up a grassy hill to ask the onsite manager of a U.S. mining company for work. Joseph Tony had heard VCS Mining Inc. was bringing jobs, along with paved roads and electricity, to this corner of rural northern Haiti. “Everybody is waiting,” he said.

But Williamcite Noel, the only VCS employee in Haiti, had nothing to offer. Although the company received one of two government gold mining permits in December 2012, its Morne Bossa project was frozen two months later when Parliament imposed a moratorium on mining activity amid deep concern about the country’s capacity to regulate such a complex industry…