Ecuador: Environmental conflict reignites over the Panantza mining project as the Shuar people resume the fight – May 19, 2025

..."We didn’t know anything," says Domingo Ankuash, president of the Interprovincial Federation of Shuar Centers (FICSH), regarding the issuance of a new environmental license for the exploration phase of the Panantza mining project, located in ancestral Indigenous territories in the southern Ecuadorian Amazon. In 2022, the Constitutional Court annulled the initial environmental license granted to the then Panantza–San Carlos project, citing a violation of Indigenous peoples’ right to consultation.

As part of the reparative measures, the court ordered the Ecuadorian state to carry out a prior, free, and informed consultation process with the Shuar people living in the project’s area of influence, within six months from the date of the ruling’s notification.

Two and a half years later, Ankuash—a historic leader of the Shuar nationality and one of the four people who brought the case to court—had not even been informed about the new authorization granted by the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Ecological Transition (MAATE).

“We have doubts about the constitutionality of that license,” says Nathaly Yépez, legal advisor to Amazon Watch Ecuador, a non-governmental organization supporting the legal defense in this case.

Mongabay Latam requested information from the authorities on the fulfillment of both court mandates, but received no response by the time of publication.

Explorcobres SA (EXSA), a Chinese company in charge of this copper, molybdenum, and gold mining project...

Mongabay Latam asked the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) whether the concession overlaps with titled Indigenous lands or protected areas. Again, there was no response. What is known, however, is that the area is ancestral Shuar territory. The presence of Shuar place names and geographic landmarks, such as Panantza, is evidence of this.

Attorneys Cajamarca and Yépez found that prior to the issuance of the environmental license, meetings were held in towns near the mining concession. According to Cajamarca, these were gatherings of friends and local authorities who support mining activities. “That was used to justify the consultation process—those in favor raised their hands, and everyone but the Shuar people were supposedly in agreement,” said the lawyer.

“To us, the environmental license is a story, a disguise used to continue attacking the territories of Indigenous nationalities,” said leader Ankuash.

Mongabay Latam sought comment from Explorcobres SA, but the company did not respond by the time of publication.