In September, Ecuador’s constitutional court (CC) approved a referendum initiative to prohibit medium and large-scale metallic mining in areas surrounding the five rivers in Cuenca canton that provide water to the country’s third largest city, also named Cuenca, in Azuay province. For Ecuador’s mining industry, this ruling was a worrying development. It prompted concerns about potential copycat initiatives around the country, as well as about the impact on existing mining projects in Cuenca, and the further politicisation of mining more generally. End of preview - This article contains approximately 550 words.
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