Hernán Guasumba, Exploration Manager, and Juan Carlos Dueñas Ricaurte, Coordinator of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, ENAMI EP

As a government-owned company, ENAMI EP develops mining projects with a social angle to improve the situation of local communities.

• Interview

What makes Llurimagua a promising project amidst Ecuador’s plans to establish a strong mining sector?

HERNÁN GUASUMBA The site of the Llurimagua project has been studied since the 1980s. Several international companies have already done exploratory works in the area and have found anomalies that indicate the presence of copper. This is in line with Ecuador’s untapped mining potential. Over the last two decades, we have explored only the western side of the Andes mountain range, so there is still a lot of territory to be explored. I was part of a team that assessed the project between 2002 and 2005 and determined mining resources inferred by 1.3 billion tons of ore with a 0.73% copper grade; however, the latest studies conducted by Codelco in 2019 show that the area has a potential of at least 3 billion tons of copper ore. The area potentially holds even more reserves because a part of it is yet to be explored. Considering this, we are planning to start exploration in the southeastern part of the area. With the latest figure in mind, it is safe to say this is one of the largest reserves of copper in the world. The amount of copper reserves can be three times larger than Mirador and comparable to the Chuquicamata mine in Chile. We have recently moved from the advanced exploration stage to the economic evaluation one. That gives us two additional years for evaluation, which could be extended for another two years. It really depends on when we develop the project and if we do an open-pit or an underground mining project.

As public company, how does ENAMI EP guarantee mining projects have a positive social impact?

JUAN CARLOS DUEÑAS RICAURTE ENAMI EP is a government-owned company, and as such, is an entity that must work in order to improve the quality of life. With our mining projects, we create jobs within communities to boost development through responsible mining. We develop mining projects with a social angle to improve the situation of local communities. We first conduct a general analysis of the communities, which includes a macroeconomic study to learn the main economic activities of the region, the capabilities of their inhabitants, and other factors. In accordance with those, we help them create new productive projects. Once the area of interest has been characterized, we contact local authorities as well as authorities from other levels of government to coordinate institutional cooperation. To maintain healthy relationships with the local population, we constantly try to keep the communities informed of every step we take to develop the mining projects. We then explain whether we are doing exploratory work to find minerals or other sorts of activities.

As an expert, how do you see the future of mining in Ecuador?

HG All our projects are greenfield investments, which means no exploratory works were carried out on them. As a result, greenfield investments are high-risk projects. We do not have the resources to develop all these projects because it would be very expensive. We must consider that out of 1,000 exploratory projects, about 100 become mining projects, and of those 100, only one becomes a mine. In Ecuador, however, several projects have been successful, such as Mirador, Loma Blanca, Río Blanco, and Llurimagua. Over the last 15 years, no other country in Latin America has had the success that Ecuador has had in the mining industry. We have held discussions with many international mining companies that see huge potential in Ecuador’s mining sector. Additionally, the mining sector can be a major source of jobs. The country is still going through a learning period; once we cross this stage, Ecuador and companies like ENAMI EP would be able to better manage mining projects. Fortunately, ENAMI EP was able to partner with Codelco, which has been crucial in terms of know-how and knowledge transfer.