HIGÜEY, Dominican Republic.- Hundreds of people visit the area near the village Sanate, in eastern Altagracia Province, spurred by the Mining Agency’s exploration of the petroleum emanation in the zone, some of whose residents affirm is a gift of the Virgin Mary, whose alleged apparition more than 100 years ago gave the region its name.

Thousands of people including farmers, cattle ranchers, landowners and merchants visit the zone were technicians have gone to verify the finding, although the emanations have been known for six months in Higüey.

Some locals affirm that an important vein of low sulfur petroleum lies beneath the zone, of higher quality than Venezuela’s, emanating from the Sanate river’s eastern bank, near the are known as La Lima, just 6.5 kilometers from Higüey.

Mining Agency director Octavio Lopez on Friday announced that the company GH Geochemical Services, LTD, in Babington, England, conducted laboratory studies to determine the crude’s quality.