International companies have established the Alliance for Responsible Mining in Ecuador

As new mining projects surge in Ecuador, international companies have established the Alliance for Responsible Mining in Ecuador (AMRE) to work with local communities and gain public trust.

THE MINING SECTOR for precious metals is booming in Ecuador after President Lenín Moreno introduced business-friendly regulations that have revitalized FDI in the Andean nation. Yet, indigenous communities most affected by mining developments remain unconvinced they will benefit from a wave of extraction projects. In effort to reach out to such communities and create better communication channels between indigenous groups and international investors, an alliance of private companies established AMRE in 2019. The association will seek to promote responsible and sustainable mining practices with the goal of ensuring the sector’s long-term development in the country. AMRE aims to act as an intermediary between mining companies and the communities where they operate, seeking to educate local populations about the job growth opportunities and improvements in infrastructure and living conditions brought by international investors. At the same time, the association will be well placed to oversee ongoing mining projects and ensure companies protect the environmental integrity of the ecosystems that locals rely upon for their well-being. The news comes as Ecuador’s mining sector is expected to grow from a current 1.6% of the GDP to 4% after 275 new mining concessions were awarded between 2016 and 2017. The nation’s mining workforce, which currently amounts to 3,700 people, is also expected to rise to about 16,000 by 2020. Overall, new ventures in the mining sector are projected to grow the industry from USD1.1 billion in 2017 to USD7.9 billion in 2021. “The biggest attractiveness of the country [is] its geological potential; only 7% of it has been explored for mining purposes,” Santiago Yépez, the Ecuador country manager for Canadian mining company Lucky Minerals, told TBY. “However, this has to be coupled with a favorable administrative and legal environment. The steps the government has taken to attract FDI have been extremely important for the mining industry.” In 2019, two main projects were set in motion in Ecuador and are expected to spearhead growth in the mining sector. Known as the Fruta del Norte and the Mirador mines, these precious metals projects will be among the largest extraction ventures in the nation. The Chinese-owned Mirador began producing copper in July 2019 and is estimated to hold 3.2 million tons of the precious metal, along with 3.4 million oz of gold and 27.1 million oz of silver. Meanwhile, Canada’s Lundin Gold company is operating Fruta del Norte, set to start production in November 2019, and projections indicate the site will produce 4.6 million oz of gold over 15 years. A myriad of small-to-medium mining projects are also in the pipeline, and government officials seek to manage developments by involving greater input from communities where operations take place. One mechanism being applied to quell communal tensions has been the introduction of public referendums. After being informed about proposed mining projects, the employment benefits they bring, and the environmental precautions companies will take to safeguard local drinking water and ecosystems, district citizens can vote to enable or stop new projects. Yépez said greater transparency and information sharing by international companies could help reverse long-standing negative views of mining activities in indigenous areas. “The country has traditionally had a small mining sector that did not follow international standards, including a certain degree of illegal mining,” Yépez said. “These factors have resulted in people thinking the mining sector is harmful to the environment. We want to show that it is possible to do mining while being responsible with the environment and responding quickly if there are any issues that need to be addressed.”