Bowing to opposition, Noboa turns responsibility for Loma Larga mine over to local authorities

The city of Cuenca and the Azuay Province Prefecture may have the final say about the future of the Loma Larga gold mine.

A lagoon in the Quimsacocha páramo south of Cuenca.

On Thursday, President Daniel Noboa invited the local governments to submit environmental studies and make administrative recommendations on the potential impact of the Loma Larga mining project on water sources. The invitation followed Noboa’s visit to Cuenca and Gualaceo.

In September, the Mining Ministry discounted the validity of a municipal study that determined the mine would pollute water sources in the Quimsacocha páramo and cause extensive environmental damage. At one point, Mining Minister Inés Manzano called the study by Cuenca city utility ETAPA “fraudulent” and said all decisions about Loma Larga would be made by the national government.

Although the government granted an operating license to Dundee Precious Metals in June to mine Loma Larga, it issued a temporary suspension of the project in August, requesting additional documentation from the company. The suspension followed protests by Cuenca and Azuay Province officials and residents of the Quimsacocha area where the mine would be located.

In the Thursday offer to give local governments an expanded role in decision-making, the presidential press office said the Ministry of Mining will “act within the regulatory framework” in granting final approval for the mine, in conjunction with local authorities. “For its part, the municipality and prefecture will be required to assume all responsibility for their decisions and to work within established rules and guidelines,” the press office said in a statement.

The statement continued, maintaining that the Noboa government “inherited” the Loma Larga project from previous governments. “Negotiations for the mine date back to 2001 and a 2022 court order cleared the project to go forward,” it said. “It must be understood that there could be a high price to be paid if the project is cancelled — consider the $800 million settlement with Chevon oil after that company was expelled from the country.”

The statement concluded: “On the other hand, if it is conclusively determined that the mine will contaminate the water supplies of Cuenca and Azuay Province, it will not be allowed to proceed.”

Is the national government relinquishing total authority over Loma Larga’s future? “It is too early to tell, but it appears to be the case,” says former mining ministry deputy director Jorge Aguilera. “From his statement, it appears the president is allowing local authorities to make the final decision on the mine based on their studies. He sees the opposition growing. He sees the preparations for the big anti-mining protest Tuesday. He may have decided, finally, that this is a fight he cannot win.”

Cuenca attorney and former Azuay prefect Yaku Perez welcomed the news Thursday night but said there is no need for more studies or recommendations. “This has already been done, and we already have the recommendations,” he said in a radio interview. “We have the result of referendums in which the people voted overwhelmingly against mining. We have the court rulings. We will not accept the mine. There is no need for further discussion.”

Perez added: “Noboa says he will hold local authorities accountable for the fate of the mine but what he is doing, in fact, is simply denying his mistakes and bad decisions.”
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Update: In a Friday morning radio interview, President Daniel Noboa said he is dropping his support of the Loma Larga mine project. “I am not going to continue with this project,” he said. “The municipality (of Cuenca) and the prefecture (of Azuay) will now take charge, show your reports, and make their decision. The project is probably not going to happen.”