“Over the past year, major foreign miners, including BHPBilliton, Codelco, Newcrest Mining and Anglo American have announced plans to invest in, or develop, projects in the country,” says BMI.
BHP and other heavyweight miners are opening offices or adding exploration licences in Ecuador as they advance a search for copper and gold in the South American country, which sits on the Andean copper belt.
https://www.miningweekly.com/article/ecuador-attracting-mining-interest-political-risks-weigh-on-latin-america-outlook-2018-07-12/rep_id:3650