Kinross departure provides opportunities for state and national mining

Santiago Yepez, president of the Mining Chamber of Ecuador, said the situation is delicate because foreign investors were awaiting the signature of the operating agreement between Kinross and the state to venture into new projects, however, he noted that the current scenario is an opportunity for companies working in the country, to seek a mining contract for gold extraction in the Fruta del Norte project (Zamora).

Mining advocates and government officials said that another positive point is that the whole departure issue has disarmed arguments from social sectors that rated the mining reform as the “Kinross Law”. The departure, announced late Monday, would show that the Government did not draft a law, favoring a transnational company.

Furthermore, the Vice President Jorge Glas downplayed the permanence of the Canadian mining company because, he said, any mining company could sign a contract for gold exploitation.

On the other hand, the Canadian mining company INV Metals, which is in charge of the project Loma Grande (Quimsacocha) in Ecuador, will conduct a complete “re-evaluation” of its operation in the country.

This, after hearing the Kinross’ announcement regarding its departure from the gold mine of Fruta del Norte after failing to reach an agreement with the Ecuadorian state about the negotiation of the exploitation contract, which took more than two years.

Mining Industry. There is hope for the future of mining project Fruta del Norte.