Word from Miami is that Ecuador's Vice Minister of Mining and Petroleum, José Serrano, made a generally upbeat speech on the future of mining in his country and said that the investment community would welcome the contents of the new law but wouldn't say much about what was in it). I'm happy to report a pal telling me that "windfall tax is now off the table", but count that as anecdotal, nothing more. One thing that he said was the Constitutional Assembly's now infamous mining mandate would not be the basis for the new law...that's gotta be good.