Corriente Receives License for Port Construction


Map showing location of the Corriente Copper Belt in Ecuador.
Vancouver, B.C., Canada-based Corriente Resources reported in late October that Ecuador’s Ministry of Environment approved the Environmental License for Corriente to build and operate a dedicated port near Machala for the shipping of copper concentrate from the Corriente Copper Belt. The company owns a 27-hectare port site on the Santa Rosa Channel in Machala, which is connected to the company’s Mirador copper project by a 400- km paved highway. The port provides access for a Pacific shipping route for the company’s copper concentrate and is one of the key components of the infrastructure package required for development of the Corriente Copper Belt.

Corriente said it received the Environmental Impact Study and the Environmental Management Plan approval for the port in May 2008 and has been working with the Ministry of Environment to grant the Environmental License. According to the company, receipt of this license is a major step in the approval process for the port and is a clear indication of the course charted by the administration of President Correa, which is advancing mining in Ecuador.

The company noted that approval of the new Mining Law is next on the legislative agenda of the Correa administration, and said approval of this law would send a strong signal to international markets that Ecuador is committed to make responsible mining an important part of the country’s future.

Corriente controls approximately 62,000 hectares located within the Corriente Copper Belt, Ecuador. The belt currently contains four copper and copper-gold porphyry deposits: Mirador, Mirador Norte, Panantza and San Carlos, as well as six additional copper exploration targets.

As featured in Womp 08 Vol 9 - www.womp-int.com