Ecuador expects its mining exports to exceed 4 billion dollars by 2025

Ecuador expects to rake in $4 billion in mining exports by 2025, the Ministry of Energy and Mines said, estimating that the industry could become the South American nation’s third largest foreign sales sector.

Despite its abundant mineral reserves, Ecuador has lagged behind other countries in the region such as Peru and Chile in large-scale mining development, due to opposition from indigenous communities and adverse court decisions.

“It is expected that by 2025, Ecuador will capture approximately 4,000 million dollars from the export of mining products,” said the Vice Minister of Mines, Álvaro Ordóñez.

“At current values, it would represent 15% of the country’s total exports, which would place minerals as the third most exported and most important product, behind oil and shrimp,” he added.

Copper and gold are the country’s most important mining exports, mostly shipped to China, the United States and Switzerland.

Until October of this year, mining exports from Ecuador generated some 2,310 million dollars, 42.2% more than in the same period last year. This represented 86% of the country’s goal of 2.673 million dollars for 2022, the statement added.

The item includes sales of the Mirador copper mine, owned by Ecuacorriente, a subsidiary of the Chinese consortium CRCC-Tongguan Investment, and gold exports from Canada’s Lundin Gold’s Fruta del Norte, as well as small-scale mining.

Ecuador expects four major mining projects to come on stream during the government of President Guillermo Lasso, including the Cascabel concession, held by Australia’s SolGold.