Canadian Mining Company to Explore in the Ecuadorian Amazon

May 8, 2024 Hour: 12:28 pm

On Tuesday, the Ecuadorian National Mining Company (ENAMI) announced a commercial agreement with the Canadian company Solaris Resources to explore 39,734 hectares in the Amazon jungle where it estimates that there is “great mining potential.”

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“The mining sector is moving and we are trying to recover the dynamism it had until recently,” Mining Vice Minister Diego Ocampo said during the signing of the ENAMI-Solaris strategic alliance that provides for the investment of US$25 million.

He has also confirmed that President Daniel Noboa’s administration is committed to “invigorating” mining activity in Ecuador.

“That is what ENAMI is for, through which we execute a public policy based on the socially and environmentally responsible exploitation of the State’s resources,” Ocampo said.

The official narrativo over the mining activity in the Amazon, however, has been questioned by environmental activists and human rights defenders.

ILO confirms Ecuador failed to comply with Convention 169 in mining projects in the Amazon
“…for [PSHA leadership] this is a small first step. They are aware that the fight is bigger because there is still government support for mining.” -Nathaly Yépezhttps://t.co/fj3Ea6bCYx

— Amazon Watch (@amazonwatch)
March 29, 2024

Previously, the Pueblo Shuar-Arutam Organization (PSHA), MiningWatch Canada, and Amazon Watch filed a complaint against Solaris with the British Columbia’s Securities and Exchange Commission.

PSAH President Jaime Palomino pointed out that the mining project is not supported by Indigenous peoples because it will have negative consequences on the Amazon ecosystems.

Leonidas Iza, the president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), also rejected the insistence on promoting mining activity, which has only benefited foreign companies and Ecuadorian elites.

He has even directly accused President Noboa, who is a member of one of the richest families in Ecuador, of possibly having personal interests in mining exploitation.

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— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish)
May 2, 2024