Lumina obtains key grid connection approval for Ecuador's Cangrejos project

Canada’s Lumina Gold received approval from state power company Celec of the definitive feasibility level designs for connection to the national grid of its US$1.3bn Cangrejos gold-copper project in Ecuador.

The designs include two transformers at the La Avanzada substation and a 138kV single circuit transmission line that will run approximately 20km from the substation to the project, the company said in a statement.

Last year, Lumina agreed with the State to install self-generation of electricity at Cangrejos, which is in El Oro province bordering Peru, and plans hydroelectric and photovoltaic facilities.

Lumina said at a mining conference last year that it plans to build three 50MW plants.

Of the estimated capex for the project, around US$900mn is expected to be invested in 2025-27, according to data from Ecuador's mines department.

According to Lumina, Cangrejos will be an open pit mine and has probable reserves of 11.6Moz of gold and 1.4Blb (about 635,000t) of copper. A prefeasibility study puts production at 371,000oz/y of gold and 41Mlb/y of copper. The mine life is estimated at 30 years.

Several companies with mining projects in Ecuador are planning to generate their own electricity, especially considering the energy crisis which last year forced the government to cut electricity for up to 14 hours a day during the most critical stage of a drought that affected the hydropower-dependent country.

In addition to Cangrejos, among the advanced large-scale projects that will see significant demand for electricity are Cascabel, owned by Australia’s SolGold, where construction is expected to start next year; and Canadian company Solaris Resources’ Warintza, which expects to have all the necessary permits to begin construction by 2027.

Ecuador has only two industrial-scale mines in production, the Mirador copper operation and the Fruta del Norte gold mine, but it has several projects in the pipeline and aims to become an important supplier of minerals, especially those needed for the energy transition.