Court upholds 2021 decision to close Rio Tinto mine

The Constitutional Court has rejected an appeal by the Energy and Mining Ministry and mining companies to overturn a 2021 ruling shutting down the Rio Tino gold mine in Molleturo. In its previous decision the court said that residents of the affected area were denied the right of “free, prior and informed consultation.” The court also ruled that the Chinese-owned mine was a threat to the environment. A 2020 protest in Cuenca against the Rio Tinto gold mine. The mine, 40 kilometers west of Cuenca, began operations in 2015, continuing until 2019 when protests and vandalism forced its closure. In the early stages of protects, military personnel were posted at mining facilities but were withdrawn as opposition intensified. The judges ruled the project should not have been approved by the government since it is located near the Cajas National Park and within an area recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a Biosphere Reserve. The court also said the project polluted water in Molleturo and surrounding communities. The Ecuador Mining Chamber, which represents mine owners, claimed the court had overreached its authority in throwing out the appeal. “In this decision the court ignored the rights given by the state to the licensee,” the guild said in a statement. “This industry is now seriously threatened by judicial insecurity from this ruling.” In 2020, the chamber expressed its disagreement with another court ruling that allowed a public referendum on mining in Cuenca. In February 2021, voters overwhelmingly passed a mining ban in the municipal watershed. The chamber said mining decisions should be made by the government and not be subject to local elections. That election result was cited in the 2025 opposition to the Loma Larga mine, south of Cuenca. That project was suspended following a September anti-mining protest by more than 100,000 Former president Guillermo Lasso threatened legal action against protesters, claiming their actions cost the government $1.4 billion in lost revenue. The post Court upholds 2021 decision to close Rio Tinto mine appeared first on CuencaHighLife.