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A new study of mining activity by the Spurrier Group shows that Ecuador’s 15 most advanced projects could generate $217 billion in output over 30 years. This figure is twice the country’s current gross domestic product (GDP).
Among the projects that the study talks about, first of all, advanced miners include three mines in the exploitation phase: Mirador, Fruta del Norte and Río Blanco, although the latter is seized by court order.
In addition, five projects are in the exploration/economic evaluation phase: Loma Larga, Cascabel, Ruta del Cobre, Curipamba and La Plata.
Meanwhile, six projects are in the exploration/advanced exploration phase: Mirador Norte, Panantza-San Carlos, Llurimagua, Cangrejos, Cóndor and Bramaderos. Another project in the advanced exploration phase is Warintza.
For María Eulalia Silva, executive president of the Mining Chamber, this positive outlook is worth taking seriously: “Mining is the future of the country, as has been proven by the only two mines already in production,” she says.
Silva explained that responsible mining is currently in Zamora Chinchipe, the only province to have reduced poverty by 13 percentage points between 2019 and 2021. As is known, this trend has continued into this year. The eastern province of Zamora Chinchipe is currently the fourth largest taxpayer in Ecuador.
Before Zamora came Pichincha, Guayas and Azuay. But the Amazonas province surpasses the contributions of Manabí and Tungurahua. Another interesting fact is that in the classification of states, Yantzaza and El Pangui have the highest wages in the region. All thanks to mining.
The latest known year for which data is available, puts exports at $3.324 billion in 2023. That value is 11 times higher than what the country exported in 2019, when its two large mines were not yet producing.
For the union representative, these figures show several things: the mining industry has an important ability to transform the economy. He explained that exports, which stood at $754 million as of March, could end the year at the same level as in 2023, or even slightly higher.
There is also some interesting news from the Spurrier Group study, in the sense that citizens’ views on responsible mining have improved. People will realize that formal mining is very important for responsible production and environmental protection. (Yo)
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