| Location | |
|---|---|
  Mirador mine | |
| Zamora-Chinchipe Province | |
| Country | Ecuador |
| Coordinates | 3°34′41″S 78°26′8″W / 3.57806°S 78.43556°W[1] |
| Production | |
| Products | Copper |
| Production | 137 Million lbs of copper; 34,000 oz gold; and 394,000 oz silver per year.[2] |
| History | |
| Opened | 2019 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Ecuacorriente S.A. (subsidiary of CRCC-Tongguan Investment Co. Ltd) |
| Local impacts | |
| Pollution | Acid mine drainage |
| Displaced | over 30 Shuar families |
| Jobs | 1,200 construction; 415 operation |
| Development | road and water systems |
| Conflict | |
| Contested by | CONAIE and other Indigenous organisations |
| Resulted in | 2012 Ecuadorian protests |
| Contributed to | 2022 Ecuadorian protests |
| Lawsuit(s) | Rights of nature lawsuits filed in Ecuador |
The Mirador mine is a large copper mine located in the Amazonian province of Zamora-Chinchipe in southern Ecuador. It is one of the largest copper reserves in Ecuador,[1] and the first industrial-scale copper project to be developed in the country. The project has generated an environmental conflict that is emblematic in the national political debate on mining.[3]
The project is owned and operated by Ecuacorriente S.A. (ECSA), a subsidiary of the state-owned Chinese company CRCC-Tongguan Investment Co. Ltd, which comprises Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Holdings Co. Ltd. and China Railway Construction Corp. Ltd.[4]
Development of the Mirador mine was opposed by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), leading to the 2012 Ecuadorian protests. The first shipment of copper from the mine was exported to China in January 2020. Production at the mine was halted in June 2022 when access roads were blocked during widespread Indigenous-led protests that made several demands of the Ecuadorian government including a moratorium on oil and mining projects.[5]
- ^ a b "Mirador Project: Corriente Copper Belt" (PDF). Corriente Resources. 2002. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
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:02was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Valencia, Alexandra (2022-06-26). "Ecuador government, indigenous leaders hold first talks amid protests". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-07-08.