The government has explained the speculation thing already.

In the past individuals have owned the mining rights for various areas for decades, having zero thought of exploring- just sitting on it waiting til someone was interested in paying them to take it off their hands. Obviously this does nothing for the mining industry or the government or the people of ecuador. They want to see companies that have the rights to the land, exploring the land, not just sitting and waiting for personal profit doing nothing.

safeharbour