Minister to unveil mining bill this week - Ecuador

By Harvey Beltrán, Business News Americas

Ecuador's minister of mines and oil, Galo Chiriboga, will present a bill for regulating the mining sector to President Rafael Correa on June 27, a ministry official told BNamericas.

The proposal reflects opinions that were collected by the government during the so-called mining dialogues held in different mining zones throughout the country.

"They weren't able to include all of the criteria gathered but we believe the great majority is represented there," he said.

THE PROPOSAL

The bill proposes a variety of items including a royalty payment for the state that would be based on international parameters along with the idea of orienting projects around the social welfare of communities and other environmental concerns.

"There is nothing scary but there are changes that we think were important to include," Córdoba said.

STATE PARTICIPATION

The initiative does not include any changes to the state's participation in current mining projects, according to the official.

"There isn't anything included in the bill, for instance, that deals with the state wanting a larger share in all of the projects. There's nothing like that," he added.

However, he said that if the scenario for a larger state share does come up at some point "it will be normal negotiations between two companies."

TIMELINE

After President Correa reviews the bill, it will be sent to his legal adviser and is then expected to move to the corresponding legislative body that will be in place after the constituent assembly comes to an end on July 26.

"The deadline for establishing a new law will depend on the amount of time it takes for each of these steps," Córdoba said.