 By 1501 Columbus's cousin, Giovanni Colombo, had discovered gold near Buenaventura.The deposits were later known as Minas Nuevas.Two major mining areas resulted, one along San Cristobal-Buenaventura, and another in Cibao within the La Vega-Cotuy-Bonao triangle, while Santiago de los Caballeros, Concepción, and Bonao became mining towns.