LatinNews Daily - 05 August 2025

*Ecuador’s state-owned mining company Enami has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Canadian mining firm Barrick International to boost investment in exploratory mining activities in Ecuador.  Those present at the signing ceremony were President Daniel Noboa, Energy and Mining Minister Inés Manzano, and Marcelo Álvarez, the executive director of government relations at Barrick for South America, among others. A statement by Ecuador’s government cites Álvarez as saying that the agreement contemplates various phases, with plans to advance immediately on two of ten concessions covered by the MoU (although specifics were not provided). He said that with these two areas, an initial exploration phase is expected to begin with an investment of US$8.5m, of which an estimated US$1m will be assigned for social projects for communities affected by the mining projects. The agreement establishes that Enami will supervise all phases of the projects which will provide some economic benefit to the Ecuadorean state, without providing further details. In June President Noboa reopened Ecuador’s mining concession registry, allowing new mining projects for the first time since the registry was suspended in 2018 due to corruption concerns.

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