The strong gold price is underpinning robust economics of one of Ecuador’s five strategic mining projects, with an updated feasibility study calculating the Loma Larga gold project’s aftertax net present value at $454-million and its internal rate of return at 28.3%.
Developer INV Metals plans to break ground on the 223 000 gold-equivalent-ounce-a-year mine in 2021, with the goal of achieving first gold concentrate in late 2022.