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Ecuador: Quito Residents Protest Gold Mining Concessions

LATAM
  • Residents of Quito have delivered hundreds of thousands of signatures to the country's electoral court in a bid to ban mining in one of the Andean country's most biodiverse areas. The signatories are hoping to block six gold-mining concessions in the Choco Andino forest, citing threats to water sources, nature and their local businesses.
  • President Guillermo Lasso is betting on the mining sector to boost the economy, with exports foreseen at $3-billion this year. However, plans to further develop mining have been disrupted by judicial resolutions and referendums in favor of communities and indigenous peoples, frustrating potential projects.
  • The activists presented 380 000 signatures to the National Electoral Council, greater than the 200,000 required to call a referendum in the city. The electoral court must now verify and accept the signatures but activists hope the referendum can be held in February 2023, alongside local elections. (Mining Weekly)

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