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Canada’s Solaris Resources (TSX: SLS)(OTCQB: SLSSF) has reached a key milestone for its flagship Warintza copper project in southeast Ecuador after reaching an updated agreement with local communities covering benefits and impacts from the development.
The improved deal, signed by the Shuar people of Warints and Yawi, emphasizes the importance of constructive dialogue and collaboration between the company and the local groups.
The fresh agreement follows the Ecuadorian government’s publication of a manual demanding prior consultation with surrounding communities for existing and new mining projects.
The alliance builds on previous agreements between Solaris and indigenous groups and aims to create projects that support the provision of medical services in remote communities. It also promotes initiatives focused on the development and delivery of intercultural education, as well as training and technical assistance and support for the formalization of artisanal mining in FICSH (Interprovincial Federation of Shuar Centres) territories.
“The signing of this updated impact and benefits agreement (IBA) marks a significant milestone in the social advancement of the Warintza project through our pioneering participatory mining model for sustainable resource development,” Solaris president and CEO Daniel Earle said in the statement.
The Warintza deposit was discovered by David Lowell in 2000 but sat dormant for two decades due to a breakdown in social acceptance from local communities. In mid-2019, Solaris undertook extensive dialogue to understand the root causes of conflict and to resolve them. Initial impact and benefits agreements were signed in 2020 and 2022.
Solaris received in January financing backing from an affiliate of China’s Zijin Mining.
