Ecuadorian mining heats up with $3bn contracts due to be signed

Deputy Mining Minister of Ecuador, Federico Auquilla, has recently announced
that the country is finalising contracts with Kinross and Ecuacorriente for two
large mining projects with a $3bn investment. Read the full story here Canadian
gold miner Kinross is planning further development of Ecuadors largest gold
project- Fruta del Norte, while Ecuacorriente, a subsidiary of Canadian
multinational Corriente Resources, will be working on the Mirador copper mine.
The two planned mining projects would contribute around 5% of Ecuadors GDP and
advance royalty payments would be used to fund social projects nearby the
operating mines. Latin American mining continues to pique the interest of
Chinese investors keen to secure raw materials, and increased global competition
for fewer investable projects may create a push away for traditional investment
destinations such as Australia and Canada towards frontier markets such as
Brazil, Ecuador and Africa. Major miners, regulators, foreign investors and
junior miners with Latin American projects will be discussing regulatory
considerations, capital raising opportunities & challenges, resource nationalism
and infrastructural improvements in the region at Americas Day, taking place 26
March 2012 at Asia Mining Congress. Visit our website to find out more!