A June 2019 photo of the Fruta del Norte site.
The ongoing civil unrest in Ecuador has started to impact on the activities of the Fruta del Norte gold project, with mining, earthworks and plant commissioning activities having been temporarily ceased, or reduced.
Toronto-listed Lundin Gold reported on Sunday that the ongoing road blockades, which started in the country on October 3, had prevented the movement of key supplies and personnel to and from Fruta del Norte.
However, at this time, the project developer did not foresee an impact on its goal of first gold production this quarter and work related to the outstanding permits continued.
The $692-million Fruta del Norte project will be Ecuador’s biggest gold mine, producing an average of 310 000 oz/y at a projected all-in sustaining cost of $583/oz.
“The company continues to monitor the situation to ensure the safety of its personnel and security of the project and stands ready to reestablish full operations as soon as the road blockades are lifted,” Vancouver-based Lundin said.
The protests were sparked by President Lenin Moreno’s announcement early this month of an end to subsidies that had been holding down fuel prices. A state of emergency was declared, but it has failed to end protests by groups demanding an end to austerity and the return of fuel subsidies.
Ecuador’s only large-scale copper mine, Mirador, has also curbed operations as a precautionary measure, according to newswire Bloomberg News. The $1-billion Mirador project in Zamora-Chinchipe province started operating in July and is owned by a joint venture of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group and China Railway Construction.
Last week, exploration and development firm SolGold assured shareholders that its copper and gold exploration operations in Ecuador were not affected by the protests in that country and said that it had taken precautions to keep its employees safe.