The San Carlos Panantza mine is a large

copper mine Copper extraction is the multi-stage process of obtaining copper from its ores. The conversion of copper ores consists of a series of physical, chemical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ...

located in the south of

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Zamora-Chinchipe Province Zamora Chinchipe (), Province of Zamora Chinchipe is a province of the Republic of Ecuador, located at the southeastern end of the Amazon Basin, which shares borders with the Ecuadorian provinces of Azuay and Morona Santiago to the north, Loja ...

. San Carlos-Panantza is one of the largest copper reserves in Ecuador and in the world having estimated reserves of 600 million tonnes of ore grading 0.59% copper. The mine is in the Corriente copper belt along with the

Mirador mine The Mirador mine is a large copper mine located in the Amazonian province of Zamora-Chinchipe in southern Ecuador. It is one of the largest copper reserves in Ecuador, and the first industrial-scale copper project to be developed in the country. ...

. It is being developed by ExplorCobres S.A., a subsidiary of the state-owned Chinese company CRCC-Tongguan Investment Co. Ltd that is also developing Mirador. Operations were halted at San Carlos Panantza by Indigenous

Shuar The Shuar, also known as Jivaro, are an indigenous ethnic group that inhabits the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazonia. They are famous for their hunting skills and their tradition of head shrinking, known as Tzantsa. The Shuar language belongs to ...

resistance in late 2020. The mine's opposition demands consultation with Indigenous people and protection of water; foreign investment in Ecuador's mining industry has been opposed before during the

2012 Ecuadorian protests The 2012 Ecuadorian protests were a series of demonstrations by indigenous peoples who oppose the copper mining concessions in the province of Zamora-Chinchipe. On 22 March, the protesters reached the capital Quito to be met with counter protes ...

References

Copper mines in Ecuador Indigenous peoples of South America and the environment Environmental justice Environmental racism {{mine-stub