Ecuador Constitutional Court denies mining referendum

This is the third such request by an individual to stop mining through a referendum, with the court having also denied previous applications.

INV CEO Candace MacGibbon welcomed the court’s ruling and said that the company would develop the Loma Larga project in an environmentally responsible manner.

Further, she reported that the company had completed the environmental impact study (EIS) and that it was working with the Ministry of Environment and Water to submit the EIS for review and comment.

“I wish to reiterate, INV Metals has focused its efforts to design the Loma Larga underground mine and related infrastructure in an environmentally responsible manner, with a project footprint of less than 65 ha. The mine site is not near any lakes or rivers. The Loma Larga Project will not discharge any water within the canton of Cuenca. Treated water will meet stringent Ecuadorian standards and the company expects the treated water to be of better quality than the water currently found downstream of the discharge point.”

The underground mine is designed to produce concentrates which do not use cyanide for processing and about 55% of the tailings will be placed underground using the paste backfill method. The remaining tailings will be filtered and pressed to remove water to be treated and recycled within the processing facilities and will be placed on a geotechnically stable lined tailings facility, which will be covered and revegetated upon closure.