The Business Year Special Report
Santiago Rojas Pi de la Serra, General Manager, National Mining Company of Ecuador (ENAMI EP)
• Interview
As a state-owned company, what role has ENAMI EP played to promote responsible mining in Ecuador?
ENAMI EP was created in 2010 with the goal to boost responsible mining in Ecuador. Our company can develop mining activities in all areas at the highest technical, environmental, and social stages according to existing regulations. It is a key player within the Ecuadorian mining sector because it is a government-owned corporation. As a result, its activities are constantly under the scrutiny of relevant social players, as well as local authorities, NGOs, and relevant national authorities. In that regard, ENAMI EP is an example of the development the state is doing in mining projects awarded to national and foreign firms. For that reason, environmental preservation and the civil rights of the people living around our projects are our top priorities. Additionally, ENAMI EP has a preferential right over mining concessions, providing access to most important projects and acting as a strategic partner. In addition, ENAMI EP, as a public company, has a good understanding with other government-owned institutions, which is advantageous for developing projects quickly.
What advantages does partnering with ENAMI EP have?
ENAMI EP has an interesting project portfolio, made up by mining concessions with huge potentials for gold, copper, silver, iron, titanium, and other non-metal minerals. ENAMI EP offers solid relations with the government to facilitate the administrative process for the development of mining activities. Besides, we ensure a strong social interaction and support with the communities that live in mining areas. We also provide legal and environmental assistance. Establishing an alliance with ENAMI EP is advantageous for obtaining access to mining concessions with a high geological potential, priority rights to request mining concessions, zero tax on annual mining concession fees, and direct contact with public institutions to ensure the government-backing to develop these projects.
Which projects currently mark Ecuador’s beginning of industrial mining, and how are ENAMI EP’s projects positioned in this context?
Ecuador has a high probability of success for mining projects due to several factors, including the many mining deposits in the so-called mining belt that extends through the Pacific coast of South America from Colombia to Chile. There is also legal security due to the strengthening of mining and environmental legislation that has ensured the development of projects such as Cascabel, Llurimagua, Fruta del Norte, Loma Larga, Río Blanco, Mirador, Chaucha, and San Carlos-Panantza. Some have already gone from the exploration phase to economic viability and construction stages. No other country in the world has had so many discoveries in such a short time. And there are still many possibilities of new findings. In ENAMI EP’s projects, the most advanced is Llurimagua, a joint venture we are developing with Chile’s Codelco. The deposit has a resource of 982 million tons grading 0.89% copper and 0.04% molybdenum. ENAMI EP is in the process of approving the project’s next stage. We are pleased to work with Codelco, as the largest copper producer in the world and a stateowned company. We find many synergies working with them. Our other projects include Sigchos, which is 70km southeast of Quito in the Sigchos canton of the beautiful Cotopaxi province. It encompasses 10,850ha divided among the Fraylejón, Insiliví, and Chucchilán concessions, which all include a number of projects in the metal belt that have gold, silver, and copper deposits. Another is the Unacota Project, which has 2,747ha for mining and is located in the Cordillera Occidental at an average altitude of 3,990m in the Cotopaxi jurisdiction of Pujilí canton. The Pacto project, which is a gold project, has two mining concessions: Ingapi, which has 2,394ha, and Urcutambo, which has 2,251ha and is near Quito, our cosmopolitan capital.
ENAMI EP has priority to request mining concessions and 0% tax for retaining them
ENAMI EP developing Llurimagua through JV with Codelco
What are your goals for ENAMI EP?
We want to ensure ENAMI EP is a profitable company that is a key pillar in the development of Ecuador. We are on the path to be a highly efficient company. ✖