Member Info for Dreamboatwarrior

World demand for minerals for the energy transition. According to a report prepared by the International Energy Agency (IEA), by 2040 the demand will quadruple for minerals such as copper that are required for the construction of clean energy technologies. Global decarbonization plans will require significant additional mining capacity to enable growth in electric vehicles, energy storage and electricity transmission (between US$0.7tn for 3°C+ and US$1tn for 2°C). China, the world's largest consumer of most metals, is ready to make a significant investment in its energy transition to carbon neutrality by 2060, occupying a dominant global position in the production of lithium-ion batteries, solar modules and wind turbines, as well as in their associated supply chains. The European Union is also seeking to move away from its energy dependence on Russia in the medium term due to the conflict in Ukraine.At the same time, the development of committed projects in the world is not sufficient response to the increase in demand for minerals. The lack of development of projects will manifest itself in a structural shortage and in a sharp rise in prices from the end of the decade. There is currently a rebound in metals prices (gold and copper are at highs equal to 2012-2013) due to the impact of the pandemic and now the crisis in Ukraine (copper prices were up 34% in March 2022 compared with January 2021). This establishes clearly favorable conditions to search for markets with high potential for mining exploration, such as Ecuador.Competitive tax burden, access to productive factors and auxiliary value chain. In 2014-2016, important reforms and incentives were approved that have had a significant impact on the economy of mining projects. They include tax stability contracts, standardization of the treatment of historical investments for the Ajuste Soberano [Editor's note: an adjustable formula incorporated into project contracts to ensure that the benefits of the State are higher than those of the operating company] and simplifications of extraordinary income tax, etc. The changes implemented have allowed Ecuador to reduce its tax burden to the competitive range for the region. According to the Fraser Index report for 2021, Ecuador's score grew by 26% compared with 2020, as one of the most attractive countries for investors in the mining sector, ranking 24th among 84 mining jurisdictions, with a score of 72.79 out of 100 compared with the 57.95 points seen in 2020. The country represents low investment costs for production due to the geological conditions of the minerals (excellent metallurgical grades and high mineral concentration per tonne). At the same time, the electricity master plan, with the construction of eight hydroelectric plants in the last 15 years, has made Ecuador an exporter of clean and low-cost energy (US$5.8/kWh) in comparison with Peru and Colombia, which improves competitive conditions investments in mining projects.

“By Rebecca Illescas

Deputy mining minister and mining minister in Ecuador between 2017 and 2018. Consultant for companies and government in the efficient management of natural resources in Ecuador.

Geological Potential. Ecuador is the least explored country in the region, with only 10% of the country explored, according to data from the Ecuadoran ministry of energy and mines for 2021. The country is part of the Andes mountain range, so there are eight identified areas that have high mining potential due to their geological, mineralogical and structural characteristics. Ecuador has at least five projects that are emerging as world-class deposits. One of them is the Cascabel project, which is one of the world's largest copper discoveries in the last decade and is expected to go into operation by 2028. It also has four investment projects in the initial exploration phase.

Sustained growth of exports, investments and importance to the national economy. Ecuador's central bank stated that the mining sector exported 697,000t of mining products for US$2.09bn in 2021, making them the fourth largest export product for Ecuador and representing 5.70% of the country's total exports, while minerals were the goods that drove up Ecuador's non-traditional exports most in the first quarter of 2022. It is estimated that exports from the 12 biggest mining projects in the country would have a current value of US$176bn until the end of their useful life in 2052. In 2020, with investments of US$568mn, mining was the economic activity that attracted the most foreign capital, accounting for 48% of Foreign Direct Investment in the midst of the pandemic. Over the next four years, direct formal employment created by mining would increase by more than 215,000 jobs compared with 2020, ending 2024 with 270,180 employees. As of 2027, the mining sector would generate more than 500,000 formal direct and indirect jobs.The high potential for mining expansion could transform this sector in the medium term into a driver of economic growth through production chains via intermediate consumption with the other industries and generation of direct and indirect employment.

Another V big one …. This has been going on a while now ….. all the action after hours

We will be doing a short presentation at PDAC next week in Toronto .... the company has confirmed this will be posted on the website shortly after

Could come from literally anywhere
Porvenir
JV
Funding news
Who knows …….. wonder how Moran is going
“ The discovery of the Moran system brings to 11 the number of orebody targets defined so far at Cascabel”
Or maybe something even bigger ??

Devon
Looks great ….. building invaluable relationships

On a day when Rio, BHP and NCM all had significant drops …. We did ok ….

Courtesy of the Slug btw

Monte …. All gone for now

ADFN

Indeed Pad …… not long now

SolGold aims to raise Cascabel bar

SolGold is hoping for a significant jump in the economics of its Cascabel copper-gold project in Imbabura, Ecuador, project manager Santiago Vaca told delegates at the CGSQuito 2022 event Monday.

07 June 2022
Paul Harris In Quito, Ecuador

Vaca said that while the pre-feasibility study (PFS) delivered in April featured a net present value (NPV) of US$2.9 billion, "our aim is to get that to $3.9-4.7 billion with the feasibility."
Vaca said the block cave mining approach would only exploit some 38% of the mineral resource discovered at the Alpala deposit to date. However, the company is considering up to four more block caves on the project as it pushes towards feasibility, in addition to looking at the open pit potential at Alpala and the Tandayama-America (TAM) deposit in the feasibility later this year.
SolGold released an updated resource on TAM in May with a measured and indicated resource of 528.5 million tonnes grading 0.36% copper equivalent for 1.27Mt of contained copper and 3.16 million ounces of gold.
The April PFS said Cascabel would produce an average of 132,000 tonnes per year of copper, 358,000 ounces a year of gold and 1Moz/y of silver, or 212,000tpy copper equivalent for an initial 26 years in a clean copper-gold-silver concentrate at an initial project life-of-mine all-in-sustaining cost 6 cents per pound following pre-production capital expenditure of US$2.7 billion.
The initial Cascabel project would exploit a reserve of 558Mt containing 3.3Mt copper grading 0.58%, 9.4Moz gold grading 0.52 grams per tonne and 30Moz silver grading 1.65g/t.
Shares in SolGold are trading at C51c, valuing the company at C$1.2 billion”

There are a couple of inaccuracies in the article ….

The company disclosed upside potential pre-tax NPV from the PFS Addendum + DFS of $1-1.8bn. Looks like the figure below added the pre-tax upside to the base case after-tax NPV. Also, the initial cave is about 21% of the M&I resource and 38% of contained metal.

https://www.miningnews.net/events-coverage/news/1433750/solgold-aiming-to-raise-the-bar-at-cascabel

Double agree Mad

Lol Rich ….. hopefully we’ll all be done posting here soon :)

Agreed Add ..... could never be suit bound or desk bound...... I'm sure the rewards are there but only after most of life has passed you by

Morning RK ...... In your opinion, in the "normal" course of events, would any of these items require an EGM. Surely in "normal circumstances" they'd have simply waited until December for the next scheduled AGM??
This meeting has been called on the last day of the current financial year for a reason...bearing in mind it's the first time for 12 years we have felt the need to call an EGM ...... In my opinion this is their last chance to issue options at anywhere near these levels and they know it .
Totally agree with you re Q too

Oops
https://twitter.com/solgold_plc/status/1534052549220831232?s=21&t=wjv2VRx-UrwVE2E1ycxNRg

https://twitter.com/xavierverag/status/1533937884322996226?s=21&t=Y1I1Uf1faIUHTWOvHpoUxA

But while some view these rulings as setbacks, others, including some lawyers, see the courts as clarifying the rules for mining companies in the face of deficient or absent legislation. Following a mandate from the Constitutional Court, the government is readying legislation to regulate the consultations that must be carried out for investment projects near Indigenous lands.

Meanwhile, industry advocates hope that the economic benefits of mining will help to shift public opinion. With just two mines in production, minerals are already Ecuador’s fourth largest export behind oil, shrimp, and bananas. A study commissioned by the Ecuadorian Mining Chamber found that developing the 12 most advanced mining projects would attract US$16 billion of investment and add 1.2 million jobs by the end of the decade.
The impact is even greater on the ground. Development of the Fruta del Norte and Mirador mines has transformed the southeastern province of Zamora Chinchipe from a sleepy backwater into one of Ecuador’s most dynamic economies, with hundreds of new jobs and businesses created over the last five years. Average incomes in the Yantzaza district, home to Fruta del Norte, are now the third highest in country, behind Quito and Guayaquil.

People elsewhere in the country would like to share these benefits, Ycaza says.

“This romantic environmentalism, which has won votes in recent elections, has lost momentum,” he says.