Seven mining companies looking to acquire the quagmire known as the Llurimagua mining project.
Besides copper, the Llurimagua mining concession in Ecuador’s biodiverse Intag cloud forests, is rich in primary cloud forests that protect 43 rivers and streams and the home of- to date- 104 species of plants and animals in danger of extinction- including Jaguars, spectacled bears, 3 species of monkeys, one of which, the Brown-headed Spider Monkey, is one of the world’s 25 most threatened primates. The Intag Resistance Rocket Frog (Ectopoglossus sp.) is new to science and only found within the mining concession. Ecuador’s constitution considers cloud forests a ecological fragile area- subjected to a different regime of land use focused on conservation and restoration.
The mining area is also very rich in archeological ruins that have not been sufficiently explored. Destruction of the nation’s cultural heritage is highly illegal. This is especially true of archeological sites not properly explored.
Resistance. Since January 1995, the communities of Intag have resisted the development of this concession, and stopped five transnational mining companies from developing a mine (Bishimetals, Copper Mesa, Codelco, Cornerstone and BHP). The resistance has never been stronger.
The Courts Agree with the Communities. In early 2024, Ecuador’s Constitutional Court, agreed with a lower court ruling that revoked the environmental licence for the project, and all mining activies came to a permant halt. The ruling was based on violations to the rights of Nature, and lack of consultation with affected communities.
Beyond the courts in victory, in the meantime, the County government has enacted several local laws that prohibit the change of the land to mining activities. Ecuador’s Constitucion, gives County, or Municipal govern-ments exclusive rights over land use.
In late 2025, the government of Noboa announced they would be accepting bidding to develop the mining project. Again, this is being done without proper consultation with communities and local governments.
As of early 2026, seven mining companies have expressed interest in the project (BHP, Freeport-McMoRan, Teck Resources y First Quantum Minerals and from China: Jiangxi Copper, CMOC Group y Chinalco)
International tribunals…. The only mining project to have gone before three international tribunals in Ecuador and possibly Latin America, is Llurimagua. Copper Mesa in 2010 to UNCITRAL, and Codelco, in 2023 to the International Chamber of Commerce, and in 2024 to the World Bank’s ICSID (International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes).
Welcome to the quagmire!