Mining Intelligence and News
Ecuador

Mirador Mine

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Categories

Summary

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Copper
  • Gold
  • Silver
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
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Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotMirador is Ecuador’s first large-scale open-pit copper mining operation. The Phase I mining and beneficiation project has completed construction and reached full production, while the Phase II expansion began full-process testing in June 2025.

Dated November 5, 2025 — a 40.5 MW temporary power plant was developed for Ecuacorriente S.A. (ECSA) through a partnership between Power Solutions N.V. and Energy33 LLC, enhancing energy reliability for the Mirador operation. The plant became fully operational on September 1, 2025, providing additional grid resilience and supporting stable mine performance.

Production data is not publicly available.

Owners

SourceSource
Mirador Project is owned by EcuaCorriente S.A. (ECSA), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chinese consortium CRCC-Tongguan consisting of two state-owned companies: the China Railways Construction Corporation and the Tongling Non Ferrous Metals Group.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Porphyry

Summary:

The host rock, alteration, and mineralization at the Mirador deposit are characteristic of a calc-alkaline porphyry copper system. Copper deposits of a similar style are widespread in the Cordilleras of North and South America.

Most of the Mirador mineralization is exposed as weathered, leached laterite in the numerous drill trail and road exposures. Unevenly developed zones of supergene copper (and possibly silver) enrichment lie beneath a leached, lateritic “cap” with a relatively flat lower boundary. Thus this leached zone is thickest under ridge crests and nonexistent in any significant drainage bottom. Primary and supergene mineralization are only preserved in creek bottom outcrops, where the drainages have cut down through the overlying laterite.

The copper-gold-silver mineralization of the Mirador deposit is present mostly as disseminations and fine fracture-fillings of chalcopyrite, secondary chalcocite, and pyrite. Gold occurs as fine inclusions in chalcopyrite and pyrite, as well as native. Molybdenite is present in systems of early-stage quartz veins that have a preferred east-west orientation. These veins occur as stockwork in both Zamora granite and early porphyry dikes.

The sequence of mineral deposition at Mirador has been divided into early-stage molybdenum, early-stage copper ± gold, and late-stage copper-gold events, with a final weak polymetallic vein stage.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Water usage

Parameter
River water

Commodity Production

Production numbers for 2024 have been reported for the period from January to October 2024.
CommodityUnits20242023
Copper t  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
All production numbers are expressed as metal in concentrate.

Operational metrics

Metrics2024
Annual ore mining rate  ....  Subscribe
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe

Production Costs

Commodity production costs have not been reported.

Mine Financials

Units2023
Revenue M RMB  ....  Subscribe
After-tax Income M RMB  ....  Subscribe

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Nov 24, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Nov 24, 2025

Workforce

EmployeesContractorsTotal WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2025
...... Subscription required 2024
...... Subscription required 2023
...... Subscription required 2021

Aerial view:

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