Communities ask to reactivate Mirador mining project
Ecuadornews:
At least 30 representatives of the Pangui community, in the Zamora Chinchipe Amazon province, arrived on Monday, May 14, to deliver a letter to President Lenin Moreno, requesting the reactivation of the Mirador mining project, operated by the Chinese company Ecuacorriente.
Domingo Ushap, representative of the Shuar Arutam community, said there is concern about the suspension of the mining intention, because many people in the community work for the company and fear losing their jobs and contracts for the services they provide.
He also stressed that the Chinese company has made several works for the community on issues of health, education, roads, among others. According to the firm Ecuacorriente, the suspension occurred on March 21 in a total of 40% of the production in several areas, which forced the disengagement of about 1,000 people, to remove 450 heavy machinery causing an economic impact of close to $ 3 million each month.
According to the schedule, it was planned to start the production phase this year, but due to the partial stoppage it is estimated that this could occur in 2019, even without a defined date.
Eduardo Guzmán, representative of microentrepreneurs in the Pangui area, said the activities in the project, which has an estimated deposit of 2.96 million tons of copper; 26.08 million ounces of silver and 3.22 million ounces of gold, have boosted the economy economically, so there are economic effects among those who provide goods and services to the Chinese company.
“We expect the president to be sensitized to authorize the reactivation of the mine, otherwise the damage would be very serious. There are some 3,000 families that invested to meet the company’s requirements, “said the leader.
The Telegraph requested information from the Ministry of the Environment regarding the suspension of the project, considered one of the most important for the regime, however, until the close of this edition, the response was still pending. (I)
Source: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/economia/4/comunidades-proyecto-minero-mirador