Kinross seeks for an arrangement of “good faith”

“Our goal is to promote a process of good faith that would respect and protect the interests of both sides,” said Canadian mining firm Kinross, who is initiating discussions with the Ecuadorian government for the recognition and the recovery of their investments in the gold deposit, Fruta del Norte, in Zamora, after 30 months of failed negotiations and the subsequent withdrawal from the project.

Kinross  announced its retirement from the mining project two weeks ago after failing to reach an agreement with the government to exploit the deposit, due to the new tax regulations applied to the mining sector.

The Canadian company said it has invested $ 300 million on  exploration projects in Ecuador since they acquired a smaller mining company, Aurelian, and took charge of the Fruta del Norte project, for $ 960 million.

After further investment in environmental studies in the area where it operated, investments in the camp for exploration personnel, with up to 400 employees, and investments in the exploration phase, the company needs to recover these resources to improve its financial situation since  the non-exploitation of Fruta del Norte will represent a loss of $ 700 million.

Kinross invested $ 300 million only in the exploration of Ecuadorian Soil.