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ASCENDANT COPPER CORPORATION TO LEAVE INTAG!!
FINALLY!!
This morning, 25 of September, Galo Chiriboga, the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum held a news conference where it ordered Ascendant Copper Corporation complete suspension of all activities within the company`s 3 concessions in the Intag region of Ecuador due to violations to the mining law. The Ministry’s news release cited violation of article 11 of the Mining Law, which requires mining companies to seek authorization from the Municipalities before proceeding with mining activities. In this case, the Municipal government of Cotacachi never authorized Ascendant to undertake any activities in the County. The complete stop work order differs from previous ones in that, as the news release states, it came after a judicial review of the case and is a formal government decision.
The latest government decision will send a tsunami to the rest of the country and will affect most of the mining concessions in Ecuador, since it is believed that most mining companies do not have the authorization of Municipalities.
At the news conference, the violence affecting the Intag area in past months was brought up. Beyond the illegalities cited by the Minister, the Subsecretary of Environmental Protection of the Ministry, Lucia Ruiz, highlighted the Ministry’s concern with the violence linked to the presence of “parallel armies” in Intag, referring to the paramilitary presence that led to violent confrontations between irregular armed groups and unarmed community members opposed to the mining project.
DECOIN
Source: http://www.menergia.gov.ec:8081/noticias/secciones/news/list.do;jsessionid=76117C8F2D92311014386DAE5692EE72?reqCode=doView&nid=223
ASCENDANT COPPER CORPORATION ABANDONARA INTAG
resumen: el dia de hoy, 25 de septiembre, el ministro de Minas y Petròleo, Galo Chiriboga, en una rueda de prensa, suspendio toda actividad de la empresa minera Ascendant Copper Corporation en la Zona de Intag. El ministro mencionO como causal, la violacion al art
Iculo 11 de la Ley de Minería, la cual exigue que las empresa obtengan una autorizacion de parte de los gobiernos municipales antes de iniciar actividades relacionadas a la mineria. En este sentido, dice el boletin de presna del Ministerio, la suspesión es un acto oficial y que viene después de una investigación juridica.
La decision, sin duda alguna, afectara a la mayoría de concesiones mineras en el Ecuador, ya que se piensa que el caso de Ascendant no es unico.
Mas allá de las ilegalidades, la violencia y presencia de “ejercitos paralelos” en Intag fue una preocupacion subrayada de parte de Lucía Ruiz, Subsecretaria de Protección Ambiental del Ministerio.
La suspension de actividades afectan 9.504 hectareas de las concesiones Golden 1, Golden 2, y Magdalena de Ascendant Copper Corporation.
Carlos Zorrilla
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