Ecuador judge suspends environmental consultation on La Plata mining project

A judge in Ecuador’s Andean province of Cotopaxi agreed to hear a case filed against the environmental consultation for the La Plata polymetallic project.

Judge Darwin Paredes ordered the provisional suspension of the information phase of the environmental consultation on the extraction and processing stages of the mining concession held by Canada’s Atico Mining.

The legal action was presented by the mayor of the town of Sigchos, Óscar Monge, who also requested the withdrawal of the national police and the armed forces, who were ensuring that incidents did not take place during the environmental consultation.

The consultation is a necessary step for the concession holder to obtain the license to begin construction of the mine, for which the latest capex figure is US$176mn. 

The information phase of the process was due to end on March 30.

This is the second time that the consultation has been suspended. Last July, the environment ministry began the process but had to stop for security reasons due to violent attacks carried out by anti-mining groups.

The process was resumed on March 19, but as soon as it was restarted, new incidents occurred, which the police said left people injured and vehicles burned.

Environmental lawyer María Amparo Albán said that next week a hearing will be held in which it will be decided if the suspension continues.

“I hope the judge sees sense and the consultation can continue, otherwise the government must appeal because the investments and development of the country cannot be stopped due to an abuse of legal guarantees,” said Albán.

Those who oppose extractive activities in Ecuador, especially in the mining and oil industries, constantly go to the courts to stop projects.

Recently Leonidas Iza, the president of Conaie – the largest indigenous organization in the country – asked the communities where there are mining projects to rise up against the industry and expel the projects from their territories.

Former deputy mining ministry Fernando Benalcázar told BNamericas that those who oppose mining do so for ideological reasons and above all for political and personal interests.

“All of these groups receive a lot of funds from international organizations to keep mining activity stopped, in a process that has been going on for several years,” said Benalcázar.