Lumina Gold behind a gold and copper mining project in Ecuador

Canada’s Lumina Gold has taken a major step forward by commissioning Ausenco Engineering to lead the feasibility study for its Cangrejos gold project in Ecuador, which stands out among its 15 gold assets under development worldwide. Vancouver-based Lumina Gold has assembled a full team of consultants from ten companies to facilitate the succesful culmination of the study, anticipated to be completed in the first half of 2025.

 

The pre-feasibility study published last year for Cangrejos, which is located in southwestern Ecuador, reported an estimated initial capital expenditure of USD 925 million and an average gold equivalent production of 469,000 ounces over a projected 26-year lifespan. The planned processing plant, the largest in Ecuador mainly for gold, incorporates a conventional copper-gold flotation concentrator and a hybrid leach-carbon-in-leach (L/CIL) circuit.

 

Despite Ecuador’s ample mineral reserves, the country has lagged behind Peru and Chile in the development of large-scale mining. During the past year, the Constitutional Court rendered rulings that played a significant role in clarifying the regulations related to requiring prior consent in mining projects. According to the statement by the president of the Mining Chamber, María Eulalia Silva, this action has exerted a noteworthy influence on the process of granting permits in the mining sector.