Estimating scales of gold ore production and processing in Zaruma and La Merced de Buenos Aires, Ecuador: Electrical power consumption as an indirect metric
End Date
27-8-2020 12:00 AM
Security Theme
State Stability and Infrastructure
Keywords
Political Stability, Ecuador, artisanal and small-scale mining, energy consumption, ore processing
Description
Environmental and socioeconomic problems have arisen as a result of Ecuador's laws pertaining to small-scale and artisanal mining. The global south, including Ecuador, has seen a surge in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) activity due to the sharp rise in gold prices between 2002 and 2012. The main focus of efforts to address the effects of ASM has been on regulatory actions. The growth of mining operations has resulted in structural damage beneath cities and an increase in illicit mining, which has exacerbated social unrest, environmental degradation, and insecurity. The prohibition of mining operations within urban areas has led to more extensive unintended consequences for Zaruma, including its sustainability and economic feasibility. This paper aims to understand the effects of prohibiting mining in urban areas, highlighting changes in economic activity, comprehending Zaruma’s reliance on ores mined illegally, and presenting a substitute technique to gauge informal mining and ore processing in Zaruma between 2010 and 2018. Between 2011 and 2014, the Zaruma processing plants' aggregate Energy Consumption Comminution Index (ECCI) climbed by 45.05%, declined by 13.13%, and then increased by 14.5% once more. It appears that processing plants are processing more ore than is being reported based on the decline in ore-processing plants and the rise in ECCI. The study also discovered that processing plants have developed into an additional engine of economic growth in Zaruma, supporting the longevity of the mining heritage while inadvertently generating social and environmental problems in La Merced de Buenos Aires (LMBA).
Estimating scales of gold ore production and processing in Zaruma and La Merced de Buenos Aires, Ecuador: Electrical power consumption as an indirect metric
Environmental and socioeconomic problems have arisen as a result of Ecuador's laws pertaining to small-scale and artisanal mining. The global south, including Ecuador, has seen a surge in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) activity due to the sharp rise in gold prices between 2002 and 2012. The main focus of efforts to address the effects of ASM has been on regulatory actions. The growth of mining operations has resulted in structural damage beneath cities and an increase in illicit mining, which has exacerbated social unrest, environmental degradation, and insecurity. The prohibition of mining operations within urban areas has led to more extensive unintended consequences for Zaruma, including its sustainability and economic feasibility. This paper aims to understand the effects of prohibiting mining in urban areas, highlighting changes in economic activity, comprehending Zaruma’s reliance on ores mined illegally, and presenting a substitute technique to gauge informal mining and ore processing in Zaruma between 2010 and 2018. Between 2011 and 2014, the Zaruma processing plants' aggregate Energy Consumption Comminution Index (ECCI) climbed by 45.05%, declined by 13.13%, and then increased by 14.5% once more. It appears that processing plants are processing more ore than is being reported based on the decline in ore-processing plants and the rise in ECCI. The study also discovered that processing plants have developed into an additional engine of economic growth in Zaruma, supporting the longevity of the mining heritage while inadvertently generating social and environmental problems in La Merced de Buenos Aires (LMBA).