"a big thanks to morse5 (and of course, otto) for the highlights of the draft. here is what otto had to say about royalties: maximum of 5%, and based on the gross value of metal mined. that's good news. i didn't want it to be based on operating profits because fdn is going to be the most profitable mine in ecuador. this levels the playing field, and aru won't have to pay more than its fair share. also, still no mention of windfall taxes, so i think we got just about everything we could possibly expect.

in other words, a quartering tailwind for the good ship aurelian."

As this turned out to be the May draft, so it's just a false alarm. Anyway a thought occured to me.

Since the WFT was introduced by the Ministry of Revenues, it may not be addressed at all in the draft mining law to be introduced by the Ministry of Mining and Resources anytime now. In that case our wait may be prolonged again. To me the WFT is a crucial piece of the puzzle. Its actual financial effects not withstanding, the optics of having such a tax in place is a big hindrance in terms of selling the investor community that Ecuador is mining and investor friendly. It would of course be a major negative factor in any kind buy out consideration for FDN or ARU.