Mine THE GAP

According to certain projections, Mirador and Fruta del Norte alone have the potential to contribute to 2% of Ecuadorian GDP.

Who are the different stakeholders under the umbrella of CME, and how do you work to promote responsible practices?

CME consists of 32 mining companies, 58 individual providers, and 33 individuals. We represent around 95% of the mining companies in the country, promoting sustainable practices and raising awareness of responsible mining. In 2018, 11 companies created a separate association called the Alliance for Responsible Mining in Ecuador (AMRE) with the purpose of communicating what responsible mining in Ecuador can be. With the election of the new board in 2019, AMRE was brought in under the umbrella of CME and now works under our umbrella. Adopting and implementing responsible mining across Ecuador is something CME is highly passionate about. This journey will far exceed the current board, but we will work hard to embed responsible mining into everything we do. CME has some highly experienced individuals and companies, and by leveraging off this experience we will build an excellent industry in Ecuador.

Mining is becoming one of the fastest drivers of economic growth. What can we expect from this trend?

2019 saw the commencement of the first two grand scale mines in Ecuador—Mirador and Fruta del Norte. As these two projects reach higher production levels, there will be higher economic impact, and people will start seeing the benefits of mining. These two projects have the potential to contribute up to 2% of the country’s GDP. We need to be conscious that whilst companies are working hard, there are external influences impacting some of the “next” mines. In general, the lifecycle of mining is not well understood, and there is a general lack of knowledge of the timeframes and success rates from exploration to production. We see growth, but the next mine to enter production may be a few years. That said, the country is still expected to attract investments for exploration and construction, which will still remain a driving force in terms of employment and contribution to GDP.

How would you classify the current status of exploration activity in Ecuador?

Generally speaking, initial exploration is a fouryear cycle with total exploration typically lasting 10-12 years, while the success rate for a grand scale mine is 3%. On average, we are talking about 16 years before one goes into production. At the moment, the mining cadastre has been closed for two years, which means there are no new opportunities for exploration, so it is fair to say that there is nowhere near the exploration activity that there could be. The companies with mining concessions are moving forward with promising results; however, in order to unlock the real potential, the register needs to be reopened so that companies in the sector can continue investing and working.

To what extent can the professionalization of a local workforce and related educational institutions contribute to greater acceptance of the mining industry in the country?

One of the roles of CME is to create a more suitable environment for mining activity in Ecuador, which involves the development of much-needed resources at every level. CME, in conjunction with its members, has been actively involved with higher education institutions to create a local workforce that can help with the development of this industry and shift the culture around mining. We are also trying to better inform people about the roles that are impacted by the mining industry. There are a wide variety of jobs and roles that are filled by the industry across numerous areas of professional expertise. Communications, architecture, and engineering are all excellent examples, something that surprises many. We are pushing hard to expand the perception in this space as we move forward. When it comes to innovation and automation, IT is also becoming increasingly important.

What is been the role of international companies in technology and knowledge transfers to Ecuador?

Companies in the chamber bring 20-30 years of lessons learned and experience in Canada, the US, and Australia to Ecuador. This experience allows us to build knowledge, share decades of lessons learned, share best practices, and technology advances, overall allowing us to speed up the process of building a responsible mining culture. ✖

Established Alliance for Responsible Mining in Ecuador