After years of often challenging negotiations that eventually led to the company’s decision to exit Ecuador, Kinross successfully completed the sale of its Ecuadorian assets – Aurelian Resources and the Fruta del Norte (FDN) project – on December 17th, to Vancouver-based Fortress Minerals for US$240 million in cash and equity.
The sale marks an important milestone for Kinross and would not have been possible without the perseverance and team work of our Corporate Development, Legal and Technical teams in Toronto, and our local team in Ecuador. The transaction not only further strengthens our balance sheet, but allows us to place increased focus on other strategic priorities.
Click here to take a look back at our time in Ecuador.
How we managed our exit from Ecuador also underscores the values we try to embody every day. While we decided not to move forward with development of FDN, we did not walk away from our responsibilities to the local Ecuadorean communities, or to our environmental obligations.
As we close this chapter in Kinross’ history, we should be especially proud of the many community programs we not only started, but completed. These include:
- Working to transform a group of more than 470 producers into an association with a sustainable agricultural export business.
- Establishing basic education and distance-learning high school programs, helping to boost secondary school graduation rates by 11%.
- A paid training program for local workers to develop skills in computer literacy, business entrepreneurship, and other areas.
- A new chapel for the Shuar that was officially opened in Nankais, a small village of approximately 250 people, located near the FDN project. Kinross donated furniture for the chapel, including pews and seats, the fiberglass cross for the altar, the bronze church bell, and the chapel’s sound system.
“We would like to express our immense gratitude for your welcoming nature and the trust you instilled through each one of the social, cultural, and community development projects within your project area which has forged the bonds of brotherhood and humanitarian commitment with the forgotten class of the Amazon region; our utmost gratitude for your valuable support, through which we have strengthened 81 communities and new associations affiliated with the organization.”
– Jorge Chumapi Terietsa (President) & Hugo Roberto Ushpa Sharup (Vice-President), Shuar Federation of Zamora-Chinchipe
“Having just completed a series of meetings with local stakeholders to say goodbye and introduce the Lundin team, it is a real pleasure to know that people truly appreciate Kinross and its contribution to the community. A recurring theme was the emphasis on personal growth and institutional strengthening, based on solid, friendly relations. The values that Kinross brings to the way it works will leave a lasting memory in Zamora Chinchipe.“
– Dominic Channer (Vice-President, External Affairs, Americas)
