"100,000 Ecuadorians protest Canadian mining project threatening key water source", 19 September 2025

...More than 100,000 people marched through Cuenca, a city in southern Ecuador, on Sept. 16, demanding that federal authorities revoke an environmental license for a gold mining project that may impact an important freshwater source.

The Loma Larga mining project, run by Canadian mining company Dundee Precious Metals, borders the 3,200-hectare (7,900-acre) Quimsacocha National Recreation Area, located within the UNESCO Macizo del Cajas Biosphere Reserve. Quimsacocha is a central source of clean freshwater in the Andean páramo tundra located approximately 30 kilometers (18.5 miles) southeast of Cuenca.

According to Reuters, protesters at the March for Water, convened by Indigenous and other local groups, chanted “Hands off Quimsacocha!” and “Water is worth more than anything!” with support from high-profile activists and politicians who oppose the mining project...

Ecuador’s environment ministry approved the Loma Larga project’s environmental license in late June. But on Aug. 6, the Ministry of Energy and Mining wrote a letter to Dundee requesting an environmental management plan, adding that “until the process is complete … the start of activities is suspended”...

Dundee Precious Metals had not responded to Mongabay’s request for comments by the time of publishing. However, a July 7 press release celebrating the approval of Loma Larga’s environmental license said the project’s design and execution plan “has been optimized to minimize its footprint and reflect high standards of environmental stewardship and responsible water management”...