Summary:

The Mirador copper mining project was the first large-scale open-pit mining project in the country’s history. In 2012, two Chinese companies, China Railway Construction Corporation and Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group, purchased the Canadian company that had been exploring and developing it. The construction of the mine began in 2015 and production began in 2019. In 2023, the government approved an expansion of the mine, which increased production from an estimated 80,000 to 140,000 tons per day.

The mine is located in the Condor mountain range, which houses 16 different ecosystems, 4,000 species of plants, and between 300 and 400 species of algae. The area is inhabited by the Indigenous Kañari-Kichwa and Shuar Peoples. The project has allegedly forcibly evicted Indigenous Peoples and farmers in the Tundayme area. In addition, local workers have been victims of mistreatment, unlawful dismissals, and mining accidents, some of which were fatal. Although the company has been repeatedly sued in court by the local communities, all these petitions have been rejected so far. Opposition to the Mirador mine, alongside other similar projects in Ecuador, has inspired mass, nationwide protests on several occasions since 2012.

Location: Zamora-Chinchipe Province, Ecuador

Companies: CRCC-Tongguan Investment consortium, comprised of two Chinese state-owned companies: China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group (TNMG), whose subsidiary in Ecuador is Ecuacorriente S.A (ECSA).

Investors and financiers: The project has been funded by a series of loans from Chinese banks. The financing for the purchase of the Canadian company was provided through a 2010 $329 million syndicated loan by China Development Bank, Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China. The same syndicate then provided $1.29 billion in 2014.

Further loans include:

1. 2015: The Export-Import Bank of China provided a $144 million loan for the project.
2. 2019: Huishang Bank provided a $300 million loan.
3. 2020: Bank of China (Panama Branch) provided a $200 million loan
4. Additionally, the China Merchants Bank, China Construction Bank, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China have offered indirect support through their lending to TMNG during 2009-2012, an estimated $410.4 million.

Project impacts and concerns:

1. Intimidation and violence: In 2014, José Tendetza, a local Shuar activist against the mine, was found strangled in his home shortly before he planned to travel to Lima, Peru, to discuss the mine at a conference. Thereafter, there have been cases of robberies, break-ins, and home fires that have affected other activists in the area. Many report surveillance and blocking of roads by ESCA private security.
2. Judicial and legal abuse: ESCA and its employees have also allegedly filed nuisance lawsuits against local anti-mine activists. The Ecuadorian Ombudsman’s Office reported in 2019 that they had been subjected to pressure by ESCA. Relatives of activists allege being selectively targeted by eviction actions as punishment.
3. Evictions and community erasure: Dozens of families have been evicted, often with force and without notice, to make way for the project. San Marcos, a local village, was completely cleared and destroyed between 2014 and 2017.
4. Working conditions: Fatal accidents have been reported, including of two workers in 2018 and one in 2019. Additionally, in 2016, dozens of striking truck drivers were fired after going on strike over unpaid wages for up to half a year.
5. Risk of tailing dam: The expansion of the mine in 2023 went through despite technical reports showing risks of collapse for a planned tailing dam designed to hold more than 380 million cubic metres.
6. Environmental damage: 1,300 acres of land was deforested up to 2017, with a total of 9,000 planned. Contamination from acid mine drainage releases heavy metals into local streams, which locals have alleged are no longer usable for agriculture.