BN Americas23 Feb 2023 07:56
“Australia's SolGold has until December to complete the negotiation process of the exploitation contract for its US$2.75bn Cascabel copper project in Ecuador.
In a management discussion and analysis report, the company said the negotiations, which began in January, include a non-binding agreement, term sheet, and the request to move to the exploitation phase.
In December, the company requested a modification to the previously signed investment protection agreement to better align it with the exploitation contract under negotiation, and to obtain additional benefits provided by the government that were not available when the agreement was signed in 2021.
The energy and mines ministry is holding bimonthly meetings with SolGold to review the approvals required for project's progress and address other actions required by the government, the company said.
In a recent interview with BNamericas, energy and mines minister Fernando Santos said that Cascabel, along with the US$250mn Curipamba copper-gold project, would both see construction start in 2024.“