"With another victory in the courts, Ecuador's Curipamba given green light to proceed", 22 November 2024.

A court ruling rejecting an appeal designed to halt Ecuador’s US$250mn Curipamba polymetallic project could set a precedent for other mining projects facing legal action.

Curipamba, also known as El Domo, is expected to be Ecuador's third industrial-scale mine and is in the hands of Canadian companies Silvercorp and Salazar Resources.

On November 12, the provincial court of Bolívar, in central Ecuador, rejected an appeal against a first instance ruling that dismissed the protection action filed against Curipamba for alleged non-compliance, omissions and damage during the environmental consultation process carried out by the environment ministry (MAATE) prior to the issuance of the environmental license for the operations phase.

Environmental consultation is an essential process for obtaining the license that allows construction of a mine to begin. It consists of informing the community about the impacts of projects, although communities do not have veto power.

Both the initial claim and the subsequent appeal sought to halt the start of mine construction but in the latest ruling, judges... said the plaintiffs did not prove that any fundamental right had been violated during the environmental consultation process, as they had claimed.

The court noted, among other things, that protective actions are only admissible when a real and direct violation of constitutional rights is demonstrated, and when there is no other adequate and effective judicial mechanism to protect those rights....

The plaintiffs could still turn to the constitutional court for an extraordinary protective action. However, that process could take years and while it lasts there is no legal impediment to the construction of Curipamba and the start of production....

The companies aim to start production by the end of 2026....