Cecilia Jamasmie | April 18, 2024 |
Airstrip access at Warintza Village. Central deposit underlies the ridge in the centre. (Image: Solaris Resources)
Canada’s Solaris Resources (TSX: SLS)(OTCQB: SLSSF) has reached a key milestone for its flagship Warintza copper project in southeast Ecuador after reaching an updated agreement with local communities covering benefits and impacts from the development.
The improved deal, signed by the Shuar people of Warints and Yawi, emphasizes the importance of constructive dialogue and collaboration between the company and the local groups.
The fresh agreement follows the Ecuadorian government’s publication of a manual demanding prior consultation with surrounding communities for existing and new mining projects.
The alliance builds on previous agreements between Solaris and indigenous groups and aims to create projects that support the provision of medical services in remote communities. It also promotes initiatives focused on the development and delivery of intercultural education, as well as training and technical assistance and support for the formalization of artisanal mining in FICSH (Interprovincial Federation of Shuar Centres) territories.
“The signing of this updated impact and benefits agreement (IBA) marks a significant milestone in the social advancement of the Warintza project through our pioneering participatory mining model for sustainable resource development,” Solaris president and CEO Daniel Earlie said in the statement.
The Warintza deposit was discovered by David Lowell in 2000 but sat dormant for two decades due to a breakdown in social acceptance from local communities. In mid-2019, Solaris undertook extensive dialogue to understand the root causes of conflict and to resolve them. Initial An impact and benefits agreements were signed in 2020 and 2022.
Solaris received in January financing backing from an affiliate of China’s Zijin Mining.
Rinehart expands Ecuador push with stake in copper-gold project
Bloomberg News | April 18, 2024 |
The Linderos project is largely underexplored, with the Copper Ridge Porphyry and Meseta Gold prospects being the most advanced.
Credit: Titan Minerals Ltd.
Australia’s richest woman, Gina Rinehart, has grown her footprint in South America by taking a stake in a highly prospective copper-gold project.
Rinehart’s private company Hancock Prospecting Ltd. will pay Titan Minerals Ltd. as much as $120 million on drilling and exploration work which would give it 80% of the Linderos project in Ecuador, the Sydney-listed company said in a statement Thursday. It will pay an initial $2 million for a 5% stake, it said.
The deal follows Hancock’s purchase of a 49% stake in a state-owned mining company last month for $120 million, which gave it six mining concessions in the north of Ecuador, according to the West Australian. The strategy finds Rinehart expanding her portfolio in a nation wracked by turmoil, including crippling energy shortages and drought.
Hancock “clearly sees the opportunity for large-scale copper, both at the Linderos Copper Project and in Ecuador, an emerging mining jurisdiction,” Titan chief executive officer Melanie Leighton said in the statement.
Over the past year, Rinehart has diversified her mining portfolio — built on massive iron ore projects in Western Australia — into lithium, rare earths and other critical minerals. In recent days, she bought a near-6% stake in Lynas Rare Earths Ltd.
(By Paul-Alain Hunt)
Australia’s richest woman, Gina Rinehart, has grown her footprint in South America by taking a stake in a highly prospective copper-gold project.
Rinehart’s private company Hancock Prospecting Ltd. will pay Titan Minerals Ltd. as much as $120 million on drilling and exploration work which would give it 80% of the Linderos project in Ecuador, the Sydney-listed company said in a statement Thursday. It will pay an initial $2 million for a 5% stake, it said.
The deal follows Hancock’s purchase of a 49% stake in a state-owned mining company last month for $120 million, which gave it six mining concessions in the north of Ecuador, according to the West Australian. The strategy finds Rinehart expanding her portfolio in a nation wracked by turmoil, including crippling energy shortages and drought.
Hancock “clearly sees the opportunity for large-scale copper, both at the Linderos Copper Project and in Ecuador, an emerging mining jurisdiction,” Titan chief executive officer Melanie Leighton said in the statement.
Over the past year, Rinehart has diversified her mining portfolio — built on massive iron ore projects in Western Australia — into lithium, rare earths and other critical minerals. In recent days, she bought a near-6% stake in Lynas Rare Earths Ltd.
(By Paul-Alain Hunt)
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