The Judicial Labour Unit of the southern city of Cuenca also reaffirmed Dundee’s mining concessions in Ecuador.

In a paper published in the journal Earth's Future, scientists point out that previous studies have not addressed two important factors which has led to misguided estimations and assumptions.

The 25%-ready Grota do Cirilo lithium project will not be constrained by quotas so Sigma will mine the north and south pits simultaneously.

The $5.5 billion Peruvian copper project, to come on stream by mid-year, is expected to produce 100,000 to 150,000 tonnes of copper this year.