Minister of Mines and Petroleum, Galo Chiriboga, asked yesterday for a complete list of the employees of eight mining companies summoned to a dialogue. The list will have to contain the respective activities they perform. The requested information will help determine if some of them continue working, without affecting the mining mandate of 18 April. In the possible case that some fulfill, they will have to continue operating in a space of 15,000 hectares of land, equivalent to three concessions.

it sounds like the government is finally having an attack of common sense. if a company knows which three concessions it will keep, and is willing to continue investing in exploration work, it should be allowed to do so. this implies that the government could reassure the companies that they aren't going to simply nationalize everything, either through windfall taxes or outright expropriation.

so when aru meets with the government, they could express an interest in continuing infill drilling at fdn, or exploration work in the princesa concession targets. as long as these are not environmentally sensitive areas, and the company is willing to take the risk of throwing its money away, it would make sense to allow work to continue. people could get back to work a lot sooner than the end of august.

otherwise, ecuador's next growth industry would be in "angry mob supplies," the sale of pitchforks and torches for unemployed miners who wish to visit the presidential palace.