Solgold’s (LON, TSX: SOLG) stock took another hit on Thursday, the day after submissions for a public hearing were heard in Ecuadorean Constitutional Court regarding the proposed referendum on mining in the provinces where the Australian miner’s 85% owned Cascabel project and other wholly owned exploration projects are located.
Solgold holds 72 mineral concessions in Ecuador through four subsidiaries.
Representatives from several Ecuadorean government bodies, regional community representatives, pro-mining groups, international mining groups workers and community members from Cascabel attended the hearing to demonstrate their opposition to the proposal, Solgold said in a media release.
The court is expected to deliver its verdict by June 24.
Earlier in the week, the vice president of the Republic of Ecuador, Otto Sonnenholzner, launched a new mining policy backing large-scale projects in the country. The policy is designed to strengthen investment and increase production in the mining sector and sets out a framework for environmental and social sustainability.
The policy document establishes the framework for mining sector planning for the period 2019-2030 and defines the government decision that will allow consolidating this sector as a fundamental axis of the country’s economy, with a contribution to GDP of 4% by 2021.
SolGold recently announced findings from its preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the Alpala deposit in the Cascabel project in northern Ecuador. The project indicated approximately $17B (at $3.30/lb copper price and $1,300oz gold price) in taxes, royalties and profit shares to the government and peoples of Ecuador, Solgold said.
Solgold’s stock was down 8.6% Thursday morning, trading at 53 Canadian cents on the TSX.
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