QUITO -(Dow Jones)- Ecuador expects to receive next year between $100 million and $200 million from early payment of future mining royalties, President Rafael Correa said Saturday.
During his weekly media address Correa said his government is requesting advance payments of royalties "before starting to extract the mineral, and that means between $100 million to $200 million next year."
Currently the Correa's administration is negotiating to sign exploitation contracts with EcuaCorriente, the local unit of Canada's Corriente Resources Inc. for its Mirador project; the local unit of International Minerals Corp. (IMZLF, IMZ.T) for its Rio Blanco project; and Kinross Gold Corp. (KGC, K.T) for its Fruta del Norte project.
Correa said that negotiation with these companies will conclude in September and the contracts for mineral exploitation will be signed in October.
EcuaCorriente is controlled by the China Railway Construction Corp. (601186.SH, 1186.HK) and the Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co. (000630.SZ).
The Mirador project, in southern Ecuador, has estimated reserves of 10 billion pounds of copper, while the Rio Blanco project, in the southwest, has estimated reserves of 605,000 ounces of gold and 4.3 million ounces of silver.
Fruta del Norte has proven and probable mineral reserves estimated at 6.8 million ounces of gold and 9.1 million ounces of silver.
Recently, Correa said his government wants mining companies that are negotiating to sign exploitation contracts in Ecuador to pay 8% in mining royalties.
Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones Newswires
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