Tag: Hancock Prospecting

Hancock Prospecting in Ecuador: Seven years of reported violations

Hancock Prospecting in Ecuador: Seven years of reported violations

In 2016-17, Ecuador put a third of its land mass up for sale to mining companies. They came from all over the world eager to explore for copper, gold and other metals, including several Australian heavyweights and juniors: BHP, Newcrest, SolGold, Fortescue Metals, and more. Prominent among the new Australian investors was Hancock Prospecting. 

Image credit: Matt Golding, Sydney Morning Herald, June 2019

Seven years on, in 2024, these companies are all busy drilling and establishing projects - leaving behind them a trail of environmental damage and violence as they progress their ambitions. Of the Australian miners, Hancock Prospecting - through its 100% owned subsidiary, Hanrine - has attracted the most news headlines. Let's take a journey through the legacy that this well-endowed private company is creating in Ecuador, one of Latin America's poorest countries.

Find our 2019 shareable PDF fact sheets on Hancock Prospecting (HPPL) in English here and Spanish here. Updates will soon be available on our website.

Introduction

Hanrine is a subsidiary 100% owned by Hancock Prospecting (therefore 76.6% owned by Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart). The company was established in Ecuador in 2017.

Hanrine has never had a website. It is very difficult for the public to access information about the company. For its part, Hancock Prospecting has never published any details about Hanrine on its Australian website, apart from its logo.

The CEO of Hanrine, Carlos De Miguel, has a history of military involvement (he was a US Marine) and in the security industry (running a private security company). He had close ties with the Ecuadorian government under the administrations of both ex-presidents Rafael Correa and Lenín Moreno. He was known to be friends with Correa’s Minister of Mines, Javier Cordova and ex-CEO of Ecuadorian state mining company ENAMI, Stevie Gamboa (who, after leaving ENAMI, became the legal advisor for Hanrine).

De Miguel is reputedly linked with privileged information regarding major infrastructure developments in Ecuador and was allegedly involved in a security capacity with the internment of Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

2015-2017

2015: Australia signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the State of Ecuador regarding mining cooperation.

2016: The government of ex-president Rafael Correa opens over 2 million hectares of land across Ecuador up to local and transnational companies for mining exploration, without any public knowledge and in alleged violation of Ecuadorian Constitutional Law.

A flood of Australian mining companies move in to Ecuador to buy concessions, securing around 10% of the total transnational mining investment. These companies include BHP, SolGold, Fortescue Metals, Newcrest, Hancock Prospecting, Sunstone, Tempus/Pelorus, and Titan Minerals.

Representatives from Hancock Prospecting visit Ecuador (reportedly four times during the course of 2016). They make a deal with the Ecuadorian state mining company, ENAMI, regarding mining and exploration.

July 2017: Hancock Prospecting forms a new subsidiary - Hanrine Ecuadorian Explorations and Mining - and sets up office in Quito.

2018

Early 2018: Gold is found when contractors start working on a road into the peaceful rural parish of Buenos Aires. This sparks a massive “gold rush”. Up to 12,000 illegal miners quickly converge on the area, many from other countries such as Colombia, Peru and Venezuela. Among them are representatives of extant and former paramilitary groups, including FARC, and narco-trafficking gangs from Colombia and Ecuador. The local population, many of whom are small scale farmers, are overwhelmed. The Ecuadorian Government grapples to deal with the problem, but fails.

March: Hanrine acquires exploration rights to six mining concessions in northern Imbabura, totalling over 27,032 hectares close to the Colombian border and surrounding SolGold’s much-touted Cascabel copper project. This is one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet, and home to several small rural communities, including the Parish of Buenos Aires.

Hanrine’s acquisions are instantly controversial. According to Ecuadorian media reports, Hanrine was awarded the concessions after the new Moreno government pledged to suspend the mining cadastre (registry) and cancel more than 2000 mining concessions – actions promised in the wake of a national referendum when 80% of Ecuadorians voted “no” to the expansion of mining in environmentally vulnerable areas.

Moreover, local communities within the Parish of Buenos Aires have received absolutely no consultation about Hanrine moving into the region (this is not a problem specific to Hanrine; lack of consultation plagues communities all over Ecuador who are suddenly finding themselves on the frontlines of mining exploration).

April: Illegal mining is still concentrated in Hanrine’s active concession, Imba 2. Organised crime gangs are now well- established in the area. Gold is being trucked to San Lorenzo, one of Ecuador’s most dangerous ports. Several deaths of miners occur.

Illegal mining in Hanrine's concession, Buenos Aires Parish, Ecuador. Source: Ecuavisa, 2018.

June: After the death of a 14 year old child, residents of towns and villages within the parish of Buenos Aires protest on the streets, demanding that the illegal miners be evicted. Illegal miners form consortiums and battle for control over mines. Some claim they are dealing with Hanrine, saying they have asked the company for their mining rights to be legalised.

27 September:  Concerns are raised about the process by which Hanrine obtained their six concessions in just a few short weeks, rather than the 8 months or more it usually takes to secure mining titles. The assemblyman for Imbabura, Marcelo Simbaña, formalises a complaint before the General Comptroller of the State regarding this and other inconsistencies, and requests a constitutional injunction to stop Hanrine operating in the area.

December: The State of Ecuador sends in the military to address the illegal mining problem. Raids and arrests follow, but these efforts again fail to bring the situation under control.

2019

Military police entering Hanrine's concession in Buenos Aires, Ecuador, 2019. Source: BUPROE

May: Residents of Buenos Aires blockade the main road to illegal mines after locals are shot at in armed confrontation between gangs at the mining sites.

July: From Australia, Hancock Prospecting allegedly requests the State of Ecuador to intervene in the illegal mining situation in their concession Imba 2. The government responds by sending in 1,200 police and 1,500 troops. They create a militarised zone and declare a state of emergency in the region. 5000 illegal miners are evicted and their camps burned. Meanwhile dozens of police officers are arrested and charged for receiving bribes from illegal mining organisation leaders.

2020

January-March: Despite the successful removal of the illegal miners, the area of Buenos Aires remains under military presence. An order by the local Emergency Operations Committee of the Cantón of Urcuquí suspends Hanrine’s activities due to the Covid pandemic; however, Hanrine does not respect this restriction.

Hanrine chases Llurimagua: An article published in the journal Periodismo de Investigation (3 August 2020) reveals that Hanrine has, since 2017, been in battle with Chilean state mining company Codelco for control of a lucrative 49% share with ENAMI in the Llurimagua copper-molybdenum project located in Junín, Intag.

Llurimagua is a highly contested project: planned to be one of the world’s biggest copper mines if built, it would host huge infrastructure (including a vast tailings dam) in a highly flood and earthquake-prone region, which also happens to be in the centre of the world’s number one biodiversity hotspot. Llurimagua has been opposed by the majority of the local community since the beginning. Currently two legal cases have been won against the mining company. The second (March 2023) resulted in a ruling that nullified Codelco’s environmental license due to violation of constitutional laws protecting the Rights of Nature.

Codelco's letter to Hancock Prospecting. Source: Periodo Investigación.

Allegedly, in the first half of 2020, Hanrine offered the Ecuadorian Government $400 million for the stake in the project and begged the Ecuadorian Government, via dozens of letters, to open the concession up to a tender process. This move angers Codelco, who had received the concession for free in 2016 under a deal with President Correa.

5 June: Codelco's Attorney General in Chile writes to Hancock Prospecting's Executive General Manager in Perth, Australia, saying "Stop interfering in our business...any subsequent action by Hancock will undoubtedly constitute conscious and intentional interference that could be extremely detrimental to Codelco's contractual rights".

July 27: Hanrine’s CEO, Carlos De Miguel, is caught with a stockpile of weapons at his home in Quito and arrested. He is charged with possession of illegal firearms and 9,500 rounds of ammunition. De Miguel’s defense claims that he was set up by the government and falsely charged. He is later released with the charges dropped. It is speculated that the arrest was related to the conflict between the two companies, Hanrine and Codelco, and possibly instigated by the Ecuadorian Government.

August 17: The restrictions on Hanrine’s operations in their Imba 2 concession are finally lifted. Hanrine attempts to enter. On August 21, the communities of Buenos Aires parish gather together, demanding that Hanrine exits Imba 2. Four days later, 180 local people burn down one of Hanrine’s main mining camps.

Hanrine's camp burns, August 2020. Source: El Universo

2021

April: The Public Defender’s Office calls on the national government to suspend all Hanrine’s mining activities in the Buenos Aires parish after what it deemed was excessive military force against inhabitants resisting mining. Hanrine contracts a  lawyer to threaten the President of the Parish of Buenos Aires, falsely accusing her of violating the company’s constitutional rights by not allowing them access to their concession.

April-June: Buenos Aires residents reiterate that they were not consulted and do not want any mining on their land, and set up a 24-hour vigil to keep Hanrine out.

June: Hundreds of Hanrine workers block the only access road into the town with trucks and machinery for over 40 days, trying to force residents to allow them passage. An Urcuquí judge eventually rules that Hanrine is violating the rights of the Buenos Aires people and gives the company 10 days to withdraw from the public highway.

July: Hanrine allegedly bribes a Quito judge to accept a Protective Action on behalf of the company. The judge’s subsequent ruling hands the national police unprecedented powers to oppress and disperse local protestors.

August 3: In the early hours of the morning, only a matter of days after the court order was given in Quito, Hanrine forces its way through Buenos Aires with over 500 police, who shoot tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds. Police arrest several people without justification or charges and hold them in jail for days. Meanwhile Hanrine gets their machinery through into the hills, sets up camp, and commences exploration activities.

August 18: Imbabura Assemblyman, Mario Ruiz, files a formal complaint expressing concerns about alleged corruption on the part of Hanrine which led to the August 3 events. In October, an investigation by the National Council of the Judiciary in Ecuador confirms the presence of irregularities and manipulation of the judicial computer system in the Protective Action launched by Hanrine in July.

2022

March: After a long campaign by local human rights organisations and the Public Defenders Office, Hanrine’s water use permits are revoked by a court order. The court decides that Hanrine has no legal right to access water for private and agricultural use, and therefore their applications are invalid. Hanrine is banned from accessing their exploration works around the farming area of El Triunfo. Despite this order, Hanrine tries numerous times to sneak back into their camps and restart work.

June 18: In the midst of a national strike, Hanrine uses the cover of a State of Emergency to try (again) to force entry. The army and police use grenades and tear gas in order to clear the streets of citizens. Local news outlets report that five people are injured - one an elderly person who is unable to move after the attack.

There are numerous other reported incidents through the course of 2022, when farmers peacefully try to stop Hanrine entering their private access roads, and are arrested and criminalised – despite the fact that it is the company who is conducting illegal actions.

2023

January: Hanrine engages the army to help them enter private properties around the village of El Triunfo in order to build a new mining camp. Farmers blockade their private access roads and are shot at with rubber bullets. Videos shared on social media show terrifying scenes of running and screaming in the midst of gunshots. The company exits a couple of days later, after being threatened with legal consequences for violation of the March 2022 court order invalidating their water use licenses.

Over the course of 2023: Hanrine, whilst not active in Imba 2, apparently feels no obligation to utilise the police to protect local farmers and townspeople from illegal mining. Therefore the police, while maintaining checkpoints on the entry and exit roads to the town of Buenos Aires, do little to stop hundreds of illegal miners moving back, reinhabiting their camp known as Plastic City, and restarting their mining activities.

Dangerous drug gangs roll in to control the area, including the notorious “Los Lobos”. Violence and crime worsens. Buenos Aires, once a small peaceful town, begins to host night clubs, liquor outlets and brothels. More violent incidents occur, and the residents of Buenos Aires continue to be oppressed by police whenever they attempt to peacefully protest the trespass of Hanrine or illegal miners on their private roads and properties.

November: Without warning, Hanrine removes all machinery from their exploration camps in Imba 2 and lays off its workers.

December 2023-January 2024: Many of Hanrine’s workers, suddenly finding themselves without income, join the illegal miners, swelling the numbers to over 3000. A series of military operations commence, purging and burning camps and equipment.

2024

March: Weeks after their exit from Imba 2, Hanrine expands its activity. Through a back room deal, without respect of Ecuadorian mining laws (which require that concessions be sold through a tender process), Hanrine seals a $150 million partnership with ENAMI, giving them access to a 49% stake in six mining concessions in Intag. The concessions surround the embattled Llurimagua copper-molybdenum project, which has been stalled by investor corruption, environmental concerns and social resistance since 2018.

This move by Hanrine is bold, for two reasons. Firstly, Intag has the longest history of unified resistance against mining in Latin America – four decades of successfully repelling one company after another – and has achieved two legal precedents defending the rights of Nature in the area. Secondly, local community and environmental organisations suspect that Hanrine’s desire to own these concessions has a lot to do with their ambitions for Llurimagua … see below.

Mining concessions in the province of Imbabura as of March 2024. Hanrine's are in green. Source: APT-Norte.

April: Ecuador’s Constitutional Court rules to invalidate an appeal launched by Codelco and the Ministry of Environment, which attemped to overturn a 2023 Court of Imbabura judgement removing their environmental permit to develop the Llurimagua project.

This ruling, while a positive result for those fighting Llurimagua, raises concerns in local communities that should Codelco give up its share of the mining project, the most likely company to buy it will be Hanrine. If this scenario comes to pass, Hanrine will own over 40,000 hectares of contigious mining concessions across the region of Intag. Furthermore, almost the entire province of Imbabura (with the exception of EMSAEC, Agroindustrial, and private concessions) will be occupied by four Australian mining companies – Hanrine, SolGold, BHP and Sunstone.

April: Hanrine invests $186m ($120m US)  in the Linderos copper exploration project in the Ecuadorian province of Loja (owned by a junior Australian company, Titan Minerals) with a view to acquire up to 80% of the project. Gina Rinehart is reportedly committed to increasing her investments in the so-called Andean Copper Belt - copper being an important battery metal - but so far, Ecuador is the only country in the region where she has a footprint. Within the past few months, Rinehart has also bought substantial sized shares in lithium and rare earth metals mines in Australia, Brazil and the United States.

May: Local Intag residents report that Hanrine employees have visited farmers living within their new Guadalupe mining concession in Intag and offered to upgrade access roads to farms.

RAG is working closely with people and communities who are being directly impacted by Hanrine's activities. Many of the events described here and in our linked media releases have been reported first hand from the frontlines, while the remaining references are sourced in Ecuadorian and Australian news media. We will update this timeline as things unfold through 2024.

 

Gina Rinehart considered “personally responsible” for human rights abuses in Buenos Aires, Ecuador

Gina Rinehart is "personally responsible" for abuses of human rights and constitutional law, say community members in Buenos Aires, Ecuador. Hanrine, her Ecuador subsidiary is again being denounced by community groups in Ecuador for its use of public forces to forcibly enter private and community properties, in order to build a new mining camp at their mining concession, Imba 2, with citizens teargassed and shot with rubber bullets.

Military forces use tear gas and rubber bullets against local farmers and community members

"The community of El Triunfo in the parish of La Merced Buenos Aires, province of Imbabura, Ecuador denounces Gina Rinehart, the mining company HANCOCK PROSPECTING, and its subsidiary in Ecuador, HANRINE ECUADORIAN EXPLORATION AND MINING S.A. and its use of the public forces of the Ecuadorian Army and Police to forcibly enter our community and private properties to build camps and exploration platforms, violating our constitutional right to environmental consultation and private property. Article 398 of our constitution guarantees a referendum vote to communities that could be affected by extractivist projects, This referendum has not been granted to any of the communities living within Hanrine’s concessions," says Peter Shear, the Director of APT Norte.

"We denounce that the road they intend to use to gain access to the IMBA 2 concession was opened by us, the small farmers of our community, by our own means and financing, and without the support of the Ecuadorian State. Our road has not been officially expropriated by the Ecuadorian state and HANRINE has not obtained a state sanctioned right of way easement. Therefore, this attack on our private property is illegal and unconstitutional," Peter Shear says.

"For the past two weeks, workers from the HANRINE mining company and the Ecuadorian army have been stationed at the entrance of the community of El Trunfo. Two trucks were staying overnight in the El Triunfo community with approximately 100 soldiers guarding 15 trucks, 5 trucks, 1 dump truck and 1 backhoe loader.Today their numbers doubled as approximately 100 troops arrived in the early morning. The HANRINE mining company desires to enter the properties of Hugo Rosero and Artemio Malquín, who have apparently authorized HANRINE to carry out its activities on their land. However, more than 30 farmers have not authorized or granted an easement for the company to enter and use the road."

"Today, the military forces present used tear gas and physical violence against a group of local campesinos who were blocking the road in order to defend their constitutional rights. Three people were illegally detained at approximately 11AM. Their whereabouts are not currently known. The names of two of the detained people are believed to be Daniel Sotaminda y Asimero Armas, who is 71 years old and has severe visual and hearing discapacities. The name of the third detained citizen is currently unknown," Peter Shear says.

"At approximately 2:30 PM the military forces were able to disperse the protestors and gain access to the concessionary area through the disbursement of rubber bullets and tear gas. Unfortunately, this military aggression is a repeating pattern. On August 3 2021, HANRINE was granted the right to petition the use of military force to gain access to their concessions. This resulted in a massive military invasion where violent force and tear gas were used against hundreds of campesino residents protesting peacefully against HANRINE and the illegality of Ecuadorian government’s granting of their concessions."

"The residents of Buenos Aires have since been systematically criminalized, arrested, and abused by HANRINE, its employees, and the Ecuadorian State. We personally hold Gina Rinehart, Hancock Exploration, HANRINE, and Ecuador’s president, Guillermo Lasso, responsible for these grave abuses of human rights and constitutional law. We personally hold Gina Rinehart, Hancock Prospecting, HANRINE, and Ecuador’s president, Guillermo Lasso, responsible for the safety and lives of all the residents of the Parroquia de Buenos Aires," says Peter Shear.

Media release here for more information and to contact Peter Shear.

Win for Los Cedros Reserve could impact mining concessions across Ecuador

Los Cedros Reserve to be protected from mining after comprehensive Ecuador Constitutional Court ruling on Rights of Nature and the environment

Los Cedros river. Image credit Rafael Cardenas

In a significant ruling on December 1, the Ecuador Constitutional Court revoked the water and environmental rights of Cornerstone Capital Resources and the Ecuador state mining company (ENAMI) for the Rio Magdalena concessions that cover most of the internationally renowned Los Cedros Reserve.

The ruling sets an important precedent for Ecuador, which was the first country in the world to enshrine the rights of nature in its rewritten constitution in 2008.

“The Court stated that the companies had been responsible for a number of constitutional violations. These included violating the rights of nature, the rights of nearby communities to clean water and environment and the rights of communities to consultation over the mining projects. In addition, the Court ruled that the companies failed to acquire adequate environmental and water permissions pertaining to the extraordinary diversity and vulnerability of the region,” says Liz Downes from the Rainforest Action Group, an advocacy and research group investigating the actions of Australian mining companies in Ecuador.

The Court also ordered the government to adopt regulations so that future environmental licenses and water licenses for mining and other extractive industries do not risk violating the Rights of Nature.

“This order could become a precedent to protect significant water sources and other Protected Forests. There are 2.4 million hectares of Protected Forest in Ecuador currently at risk due to large scale mining,” says Liz Downes.

Brown-headed spider monkey at Los Cedros Reserve. Image credit Mike Peck

“Mining activities – even at early exploration stage – in the high-altitude cloud forests and grassland regions of the Ecuadorian Andes risk contaminating and depleting the water sources of local communities and the farms they depend on, as well as risking the extinction of thousands of endemic and endangered species. Across Ecuador, communities on the frontline say they have never been consulted about mining, and this ruling potentially gives weight to their argument, ” says Liz Downes.

Around 30% of mining concessions in Ecuador granted by the government since 2017 – just over 700,000 hectares – are owned by Australian companies, who are exploring for copper and other base metals. Mining companies potentially impacted by the ruling include SolGold, who are developing 13 priority projects nearly all of which cover protected areas.

Hanrine (Hancock Prospecting) and BHP each have several concessions in the region around Los Cedros in north-western Ecuador, which almost without exception overlap the buffer zones of mega-biodiverse and threatened forests like Los Cedros and Cotacachi-Cayapas National Park. Communities in this area have strongly resisted mining for decades.

Cornerstone Capital Resources, in a press release, says it has made a submission to the Constitutional Court requesting further details about the impact of the ruling on its activities.

“It is unclear as yet as to how the ruling will be enforced in terms of legislation. But this is set as a precedent case with no legal appeal possible,” says Liz Downes.

A plan to manage and care for Los Cedros Reserve will be established jointly with the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Ecological Transition, residents of the neighbouring communities, local and state councils, as well as researchers, scientists and academics who have conducted studies in the Protected Forest. In accordance with the ruling, this process is to be overseen by the Ombudsman's Office.

FULL RELEASE HERE

Human rights violations at Gina Rinehart’s Ecuador mining concession

Tear gas used on unarmed townspeople at Buenos Aires, Ecuador to force entry to Gina Rinehart’s mining concession

Approximately 500 armed national police stormed Buenos Aires in the early hours of the 3rd August, using tear gas and military trucks to forcibly clear a path through the town for the mining company Hanrine in what locals say is a significant human rights violation. This was despite a court ruling in June that gave Hanrine ten days to exit the area. 

Residents of Buenos Aires protest the incursion of military forces in their town, 3 August 2021. Image credit: OMASNE

Residents shouted ‘illegal!’ as military trucks rolled in followed by 11 trucks and other vehicles from the Hanrine Ecuadorian mining company. Five people were detained during the clashes. Hanrine has five concession areas in Buenos Aires where they hope to explore for copper and gold, totalling more than 12,000 hectares.

“Last night, community residents were peacefully protesting in the town when hundreds of National Police entered the tiny town, using teargas on the unarmed women who stood at the front of the crowd. The show of violence on behalf of the mining company is uncalled for and a direct assault on the human rights of the townspeople, as well as their constitutional right for Free, Prior and Informed consent. The inhabitants of the area say they have never been consulted and do not want mining on their land,” says Liz Downes, a member of the Rainforest Action Group, a research and advocacy group investigating Australian mining companies acting in Ecuador.

 

“Tensions have been ongoing for months, with the company blockading the main road to the town for more than a month, and violently attempting to enter the town on a number of occasions. Last week clashes occurred between residents and Hanrine personnel, who tried to forcibly enter the town in contempt of the June ruling, and a townsperson was stabbed four times,” says Liz Downes.

In June, a provincial judge issued precautionary measures against Hanrine. This followed events where hundreds of company personnel blocked the only access road in and out of the town for more than 40 days, hoping to force locals to allow them passage to the concession Imba 1. The court ruling gave Hanrine ten days to leave the area. However the company appealed, and last week a Quito judge accepted a protection action filed by Hanrine. The new ruling provides that necessary security measures be made  to guarantee the free movement of company officials. However,

On April 21, the Ombudsman's Office of Ecuador called on the National Government to suspend all mining activities in the area, after what it deemed was excessive military force against inhabitants, and citing risks of spreading the Covid-19 Brazilian strain in a community with limited health facilities.

“Essentially two arms of the Ecuador government are opposing each other - with local elected officials, townspeople and the judge of the Multicompetent Judicial Unit of Urcuquí opposing the company’s attempts at forced entry into the town, and a Quito judge who ruled in favor of the company last week, allowing national security forces to take any necessary measures to guarantee the free movement of Hanrine officials,” says Liz Downes.

“We are deeply concerned about the contemptible actions of Hancock Prospecting via their subsidiary, Hanrine, and strongly condemn their actions. We call on Australians and the Australian government to condemn these actions in Ecuador,” says Liz Downes.

Hanrine is also suing Mario Ruiz, a member of the National Assembly who opposes mining in the region and who was instrumental in denouncing the company’s behaviour to the Assembly and to human rights and legal organisations. In April, Assemblyman Ruiz was held against his will and threatened for several hours by the company.

Two days ago the Ecuadorian Alliance for Human Rights, representing around 50 different organisations, released a formal statement of alert regarding the use of military force against residents of Buenos Aires, saying:

“We reject the systematic violence perpetrated by the mining company Hanrine … against the population of La Merced de Buenos Aires … today on 2nd August, the town is full of military trucks and buses filled with military and police … all to allow the company Hanrine to conduct activities.”

DOWNLOAD FULL MEDIA RELEASE WITH CONTACT DETAILS HERE

Judge rules Rinehart’s Ecuador subsidiary must not block public road

Court gives Gina Rinehart’s Ecuador subsidiary 10 days to withdraw from public road blockade

Hundreds of workers from Rinehart’s subsidiary Hanrine have blocked the only road to the town of Buenos Aires in north-west Ecuador for more than 40 days, hoping to force locals to allow them passage through the town to the concession Imba 1.

The judge of the Urcuquí Multicompetent Unit, Manuel Sucuzhañay, today accepted the Precautionary Measures presented by Imbabura Assemblyman Mario Ruiz, recognising Hanrine’s actions are violating the rights of the people of Buenos Aires. Hanrine was given  10 days to withdraw from the public highway.

Road blocked by Hanrine workers and their trucks. Image credit: Plan V

“Hundreds of workers have been camped on the side of the road at the entrance to the town for more than a month, living in trucks, vans and under makeshift tents made from plastic sheeting. They have been stopping locals from entering the town. In April they held Imbabura Assemblyman Mario Ruiz against his will for several hours, threatening him,” says Rebekah Hayden, a member of the Rainforest Action Group, a research and advocacy group investigating Australian mining companies acting in Ecuador.

“We are deeply concerned about the ongoing situation at Buenos Aires. On April 21, the Ombudsman's Office of Ecuador called on the National Government to suspend all mining activities in the area, after what it deemed was excessive military force against inhabitants resisting mining. The area is currently under a State of Emergency, as Ecuador is currently experiencing a fresh wave of Covid cases, the town has very limited health facilities, and locals are concerned about workers from other areas bringing in new cases in to the area,” Rebekah Hayden says.

“In response, villagers formed a resistance of their own, setting up at 24 hour vigil to stop miners from entering the town. They say Hanrine is acting illegally in trying to forcibly enter their community. They do not want mining of any kind, particularly a foreign-owned mine, and they view the incursion as a violation of their rights. Despite reports in Australian and Ecuadorian press that resistance in the area was by illegal miners, locals insist this is not the case, saying that Hanrine is conducting a smear campaign against them,” says Rebekah Hayden.

“The situation has been aggravated by the lack of response from the State, with the Ombudsman’s Office saying in April that it had not adequately controlled or regulated both legal and illegal mining. Locals say police and government officials could have forced the mining company to move earlier, stating the road blockade represents both a traffic and health hazard,” Rebekah Hayden says.

“This is only the latest issue for Rinehart in Ecuador. A Comptroller's report states there were irregularities in the delivery of concessions to Hanrine, while inhabitants say the company did not conduct environmental consultation with the people before entering their territory. The community has called for a constitutional injunction to stop Hanrine operating in the area,” Rebekah Hayden says.

“Last year, Gina's Ecuador CEO Carlos de Miguel was arrested for an alleged illegal weapons cache, and before that saw 10,000 illegal miners arrive in 2018 in the search for gold on Rinehart’s concessions. The army was called in 2019 after armed militia began competing for dominance and several people were killed, their bodies stuffed down mine shafts. Several people are still missing,” Rebekah Hayden says.

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Gold, Guns and Gina Rinehart’s mining concessions in Ecuador

Carlos De Miguel III, the General Manager of Hanrine Ecuadorian Excploration and Mining SA, a subsidiary of Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, was apprehended by police for an alleged illegal weapons cache. Mr De Miguel was found with several pistols, rifles, and more than 9,500 rounds of ammunition.

Gina Rhinehart in Ecuador
CREDIT: MATT GOLDING, Sydney Morning Herald

A spokesman for Hancock in Australia said in a statement that Carlos De Miguel held “the correct permits for these weapons which are approved by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Defence. The spokesperson went on to note "the safety of employees at Hanrine is very important to Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd (HPPL), and executives of HPPL visit the project from time to time, their safety while visiting Ecuador is also important.”

The discovery of the weapons cache raises one obvious question; why is Ecuador considered so unsafe that Hanrine executives need to possess such advanced weaponry and vast quantities of ammunition?

To understand the sovereign risks of doing business in Ecuador, we need to touch upon the history of Hanrine's mining concessions, and the clouds of controversy hanging over their purchase; along with the dangers of operating so close to the unstable Colombian border region. 

Police inspect a guns and ammo cache of Hanrine General Manager, Carlos De Miguel III in Ecuador. (Video still)

Hanrine obtained six exploratory concessions (totaling 27032 ha) located just south of Solgold-Cornerstone's Cascabel concession, in January and March 2018. According to Ecuadorian media reports, Hanrine was controversially awarded these mining concessions after the government had previously pledged to suspend the mining cadastre and cancel more than 2000 mining concessions.

On Dec 11th, 2017, Ecuadorian president Lenin Moreno had announced his mining policy u-turn following an uprising by indigenous groups and mass protests lead by the Prefect of the province of Azuay, Yaku Perez; along with the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE).

Indigenous groups led a long march from the province of Zamora to the capital Quito, in defense of water catchments and against large-scale extractive industries. The protests brought the capital to a stand still and led to the resignation of former Minister of Mining, Javier Cordova, who had failed to halt the allocation of mining concessions during the contested period.

Illegal mining in Buenos Aires, Ecuador
Illegal mining in Buenos Aires (Hanrine Mining Concession), Ecuador. Image credit: Ecuavisa 2018

The nationwide protests eventually led to a popular referendum in February 2018 in which Ecuadorians approved, among other proposals, to prohibit metal mining in protected areas, intangible zones and urban centers. President Moreno even publicly declared that mining had left a hundred rivers "severely" contaminated in the country.

Moreover, concerns have also been raised by the Ecuadorian press about the process by which Hanrine obtained these 6 disputed concessions in just a few short weeks rather than the 8 months or more it usually takes to secure mining titles. On 27 September, 2018, the assemblyman for Imbabura, Marcelo Simbaña, formalised a complaint before the General Comptroller of the State regarding inconsistencies in awarding the mining concessions to Hanrine.

Hanrine concessions
Gina's Hanrine concession areas in yellow. Image credit: Rainforest Action Group

In February 2018, just a month after awarding Hanrine the disputed concessions, a state of emergency in Buenos Aires is declared. Police and military are called in to begin confiscating hundreds of tons of mining material and clear out the illegal 'wildcat' miners and heavily armed rebel groups that had prevented Hanrine workers from accessing their concession areas.

The Hanrine concessions sit dangerously close to the Colombian border, an area renowned for para-military drug trafficking, corruption and money laundering. The area has been subject to significant unrest, with thousands of illegal miners, a number of deaths (including a 14-year-old child), and complaints of organised crime, drug trafficking and prostitution rings running alongside the illegal mining. After numerous arrests for illegal mining, the artisanal miners formed The National Union of Miners in Ecuador at El Triunfo (August 2018) to argue for the legalisation of their small scale mining operations on Hanrine concessions.

Ecuador army entering Rinehart concession. Image credit: El Pais

In July 2019, a massive military operation is organised to put an end to the illegal mining and organised crime and violence it attracted, with only mixed success. It's quite clear Hancock Prospecting's subsidiary is operating in an incredibly dangerous and complex business environment, facing strong opposition from small-scale miners, indigenous groups and environmental NGOs that are united in their opposition to large-scale mining in the region.

In a surprising twist, Hanrine is also facing an increasingly hostile government. Tension between the Ecuadorian Government and Hanrine is now building. According to the complainant, the arrest of Carlos De Miguel is a premeditated attack to block his activities as manager of the company he represents "due to clear and evident private interests of the minister  [Maria Paula Romo], who in due course will have to explain them to the country."

Is a legal challenge between embattled Hanrine and the Ecuadorian Government in the wind? 

Stay tuned for future updates on this high-stakes legal battle currently underway in Ecuador.

 

Full English-language articles here and here and Spanish-language sources here and here