Ecuador to crack down on illegal mining

President Daniel Noboa has signed a new decree against operations that lack titles and permits.

The Executive Decree 435 hopes to establish the framework to detect and then sanction illicit mining activities in Ecuador.

The National Committee for Integrity in the Mining Sector (CONIM) is being set up to take charge of ‘inter-institutional coordination to assess risks and opportunities in the sector’, according to Ecuadorian legal company Lexis.

CONIM will look to coordinate the decree and, in the future, work on a methodology for assessing further risks in the field.

Executive Decree 435 will be the responsibility of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition, and the Mining Regulation and Control Agency.

They will work with the National Police and the Armed Forces to seize and destroy goods, machinery and vehicles used in the illegal activities.

CONIM will be chaired by the Secretary General of Public Integrity and will include representatives from various key institutions