Italy
The Mirador mine is a large copper mine located in the Amazonian province of Zamora-Chinchipe in southern Ecuador. It is one of the largest copper reserves in Ecuador, and the first industrial-scale copper project to be developed in the country. The project has generated an environmental conflict th
at is emblematic in the national political debate on mining. The project is owned and operated by Ecuacorriente S.A. (ECSA), a subsidiary of the state-owned Chinese company CRCC-Tongguan Investment Co. Ltd, which comprises Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Holdings Co. Ltd. and China Railway Construction Corp. Ltd. Development of the Mirador mine was opposed by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), leading to the 2012 Ecuadorian protests. The first shipment of copper from the mine was exported to China in January 2020. Production at the mine was halted in June 2022 when access roads were blocked during widespread Indigenous-led protests that made several demands of the Ecuadorian government including a moratorium on oil and mining projects.
Listen to the audio guide for Mirador mine Free on WIP — starts by itself when you arrive, even with the screen off