{"id":1146147,"date":"2019-10-28T04:53:53","date_gmt":"2019-10-28T10:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/?p=1005366"},"modified":"2019-10-28T04:53:53","modified_gmt":"2019-10-28T10:53:53","slug":"ecuador-moving-from-explorers-hotspot-to-copper-exporter-with-first-cargo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/?p=1146147","title":{"rendered":"Ecuador moving from explorers\u2019 hotspot to copper exporter with first cargo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ecuador is moving forward with<br \/>\nplans to move from an explorers hotspot to mining exporter as the country\u2019s<br \/>\nonly large-scale copper mine readies to ship its first large cargo in November.<\/p>\n<div class='d-flex justify-content-center'>\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0'><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0');});<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The $1.4 billion Mirador open-pit mine, owned by a joint venture of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group and China Railway Construction (EcuaCorriente), began operations in July, but it slowed down earlier this month as a precautionary measure following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/web\/ecuadors-government-flees-capital-and-warns-of-coup-threat\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">massive protests against an end to fuel subsidies<\/a>, since then scrapped.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Chinese consortium gained<br \/>\naccess to Mirador through the acquisition of EcuaCorriente during the<br \/>\ngovernment of former President Rafael Correa.<\/p>\n<p>The asset, in the southeastern<br \/>\nZamora-Chinchipe province, has an estimated 3.2 million tonnes of copper<br \/>\nreserves, along with 3.4 million ounces of gold and 27.1 million ounces of<br \/>\nsilver.<\/p>\n<p>According to government\u2019s figures Mirador<br \/>\nhas already stockpiled 30,000 tonnes of copper, which it plans to export on<br \/>\nNov. 14.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInitially we planned to have it<br \/>\ndone by the end of this month,\u201d Ecuador\u2019s vice minister of mines, Fernando<br \/>\nBenalcazar, told <em>Reuters<\/em> on the sidelines of a mining conference in<br \/>\nAustralia. \u201cIt will be the first time we have a larger scale exportation going<br \/>\nout,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n<p>Canada\u2019s Lundin Gold (TSX:LUG),<br \/>\nwhich has been developing its Fruta del Norte gold project for almost two<br \/>\nyears,&nbsp;is set to follow suit. <\/p>\n<p>The Vancouver-based miner, acquired the project in 2015 for $240 million\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mining.com\/kinross-gold-allegedly-trying-to-recover-ecuador-mine-losses-51340\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">from fellow Canadian miner Kinross Gold<\/a>\u00a0(TSX:K) (NYSE:KGC), is expected to declare commercial production in two weeks\u2019 time.<\/p>\n<p>Other major mining projects in<br \/>\nEcuador include the Cascabel copper-gold project, operated by Australia\u2019s SolGold<br \/>\n(LON, TSX:SOLG); and the Llurimagua copper mine, to be run by Ecuador\u2019s<br \/>\nEnami and Chile\u2019s Codelco, the world\u2019s No. 1 copper producer.<\/p>\n<p>Ecuador has gained ground as a mining investment destination in the past two years thanks to a revised regulatory framework and a\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/mining.com\/ecuador-mining-industry-to-grown-eightfold-by-2021-report\/\" >major investor engagement campaign<\/a>. Existing and future projects, however, risk <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/solgolds-projects-safe-as-ecuador-reaches-deal-with-indigenous-groups\/\" >delays and potential halts<\/a> due to growing local opposition to the extraction of the country\u2019s resources, a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mining.com\/ecuadors-rising-opposition-mining-may-thwart-exploration-boom\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">report by\u00a0Fitch Solutions Macro Research<\/a>\u00a0shows. <\/p>\n<p>As mining projects face headwinds from rising tensions, investors\u2019 courage will be tested, the study concluded, which could thwart Ecuador\u2019s plan to attract $3.7 billion in mining investments over the next two years, significantly up from the $270 million it received in 2018. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mirador mine, in the southeastern Zamora-Chinchipe province, has copper reserves estimated 3.2 million tonnes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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