Ascendant Copper Corporation ("Ascendant") or ("the Company") confirms that today the Minister of Mines and Petroleum of Ecuador, Mr. Galo Chiriboga, held a press conference in Quito in which he addressed the general mining situation in Ecuador and made specific reference to Ascendant's Junin mining concessions located in northern Ecuador. The Company has since spoken directly with the Minister's advisors to ask for clarification of his remarks and is confident that the Minister continues to support a productive solution for the advancement of the Junin project.
Mr. Chiriboga repeated an earlier statement, reported by Ascendant in December 2006, that the Company should not conduct mining-related activities on Junin until such time as an Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") study for the conducting of drilling is completed and approved by the government.
To facilitate final preparation of the EIA, the Company signed an agreement with the government in March 2007 to provide Ascendant free access to the Junin concessions so that certain on-ground studies, for the collection of baseline studies to support proposed exploration, may be conducted. Through subsequent meetings and communications with the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, the specifics of the amount and type of work that the Company can perform in the area until such time as the EIA is approved were defined. A commission of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has recently been to the Junin concession area and confirmed that the Company is in compliance with these agreements.
Included in Minister Chiriboga's comments was the implicit invitation for the Company to continue negotiations with the local communities and authorities to advance the Junin project. Ascendant has always welcomed such discussion and believes that the existing positive attitude of the communities in the direct area of influence of the Junin project and the awakening interest in mining in Ecuador have created a positive environment in which to promote sustainable development for the Intag valley through the advancement of rational mineral exploration and mining.
Finally, it has been reported that Minister Chiriboga said that violations of the Mining Law could lead to revocation of mining concessions. Mr. Chiriboga mentioned a particular Article of the Mining Law which applies to mining activities conducted within urban areas. This Article of the Law does not apply to the Junin project. According to Mr. Davis, the Company's CEO and President, "We know of no reason why the concessions of Junin would be in any jeopardy. We routinely evaluate the status of all of our concessions in Ecuador and firmly believe that we are in compliance across the board. Indeed, no one in the government has contacted us to suggest that Ascendant is other than in full compliance with the Law."
Mr. Davis continued, "The new government continues to support mining in the country, including Minister Chiriboga's public affirmation of this principle last week at a mining conference in Quito. This position was further amplified during President Correa's visit last week to the U.S., during which he indicated that mining will play a key and important role in providing sustainable development of and employment in the country."
What does Hatarinchej mean?
ReplyDeleteI'm assured that it's Kichwa for "we are rising up", but the spelling may be a little off (and spelling in Kichwa/ Quechua/ Quechua is anything but uniform).
ReplyDeleteAs I don't speak Kichwa outside of a few everyday phrases, it's only an estimation.