The mining record of Ecuador
5,011 registered mining concessions held by 8,384 named titleholders in ARCERNNR's cadastre, 145 beneficiation plants keyed by RUC, and at least 158 mining deaths reported by the Ecuadorian press.
ARCERNNR publishes its national cadastre with full history on an open map service, and its beneficiation-plant registry is the one official mining register that carries a RUC, Ecuador's tax id; the SRI answers any RUC, anonymously, with the taxpayer's status and two fraud flags. What no agency publishes is a mining accident or a mining-safety sanction: that power sits with the Ministerio del Trabajo and the IESS under general labour law, and the transparency law does not require publishing sanctions. The deaths here come from Spanish-language press, so every count is a floor; LOTAIP requests filed on September 17, 2026 ask for the records that would replace it.
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INSCRITA in ARCERNNR's cadastre: a concession registered in the mining register and in force; TRAMITE is an application in process and ARCHIVADA a title that ended or was denied.ⓘ
The cadastre keeps every title it ever carried; most archived rows are old concessions that ended, were renounced or were denied.Every concession the cadastre has ever carried, synced weekly from ARCERNNR's map service (last refreshed Nov 1, 2026; the layer's own newest update stamp is Oct 26, 2026). 8,384 named titleholders, as the cadastre spells them.
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A planta de beneficio processes ore for one or many mines; ARCERNNR's registry gives its titular, RUC, capacity in tonnes a day and whether it sits inside a concession.Ore-processing plants with the titular's RUC, capacity and status, from a registry whose newest grant date is 2017 (last refreshed Nov 1, 2026).
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The Servicio de Rentas Internas answers any RUC anonymously with the taxpayer's status (active, suspended, passive), activity, regime and dates.ⓘ
The SRI flags a RUC as a contribuyente fantasma when it deems the taxpayer to exist only on paper, and for transacciones inexistentes when it deems invoices fictitious. The SRI's determination, shown as published.154 titleholders carry a RUC learned from a plant or an SRI record that names them exactly; 6 plant RUCs are unknown to the SRI (last refreshed Nov 1, 2026).
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Counted from press headlines only; Ecuador publishes no official per-fatality mining record, so the true number is undoubtedly higher.Spanish-language headlines naming Ecuadorian places from 1970 to Oct 20, 2026, read daily through Google News (last pull Nov 4, 2026) and classified by a language model against the headline's own words.
ARCERNNR publishes administrative resolutions, never sanctions; mine-safety penalties are imposed by the Ministerio del Trabajo and the IESS under general labour law and are not broken out by sector; the ministry's press feed names a mine only for large events. Three LOTAIP requests were filed on September 17, 2026: ARCERNNR's accident and safety findings by concession, the Ministerio del Trabajo's mining inspections, sanctions and fatal-accident notifications, and the IESS's work-accident notifications by employer RUC.
Filed September 17, 2026 by email to the Agencia de Regulación y Control Minero, the Ministerio del Trabajo and the IESS (Riesgos del Trabajo). The IESS answered on October 12, 2026 with its fatal work-accident notices and glosas for 2017 to 2026, shown below. The other two answers appear here when they arrive.
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Survivor-pension (montepío) cases on each notice. Every one is a work accident; the answer covers 2017 to 2026 only.ⓘ
Notices at 31 employers that IESS files under its mining branch and we classify as mining. Oil and gas employers are counted apart.ⓘ
US$393,150 in total, every one marked paid (Cancelada). A glosa is IESS's charge to the employer after its committee rules the employer liable. A death with no glosa may still be undecided; it is not a finding of no fault.According to the IESS's answer to our request (memo IESS-DSGRT-2026-1814-M of October 12, 2026), it recorded 47 fatal work-accident notices at mining employers between 2017 and 2026, covering 55 deaths, and issued 6 glosas to mining employers totalling US$393,150.
| Year | Notices | Deaths | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 7 | 9 | |
| 2018 | 9 | 10 | |
| 2019 | 7 | 10 | |
| 2020 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 8 | |
| 2023 | 3 | 3 | |
| 2024 | 5 | 5 | |
| 2025 | 5 | 5 | |
| 2026 | 1 | 1 |
| Province | Notices | Deaths | |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Oro | 25 | 32 | |
| Azuay | 13 | 14 | |
| Zamora Chinchipe | 3 | 3 | |
| Pichincha | 2 | 2 | |
| Cañar | 1 | 1 | |
| Carchi | 1 | 1 | |
| Imbabura | 1 | 1 | |
| Loja | 1 | 1 |
IESS files oil and gas under its mining branch; we read each employer and count only mining here, so 11 notices at oil and gas or unplaced employers are left out. Provinces are as IESS printed them. Totals only; no notice-level rows are published here. Received Oct 14, 2026.
“Lluvias en Ponce Enríquez: dos trabajadores mueren sepultados por un derrumbe”
“Dos fallecidos por deslizamiento de tierra en Ponce Enriquez”
“Dos trabajadores fallecidos deja un deslizamiento por lluvias en una mina de Camilo Ponce Enríquez, Azuay”
“Lluvias en Ecuador: dos obreros mueren sepultados por un deslizamiento en una mina de Azuay”
“Lluvias en Ecuador: dos obreros murieron sepultados por un deslizamiento en Azuay”
“Suspenden indefinidamente actividades en mina de Zaruma, por explosión”
“Dos mineros murieron por deslizamiento de tierra en Zamora”
“ocho fallecidos en mina ilegal de Pucará”
“Deslizamiento en mina de oro de Zamora Chinchipe deja dos muertos y maquinaria sepultada”
“Deslizamiento en Zamora Chinchipe deja dos mineros fallecidos”
“Deslizamiento en Zamora Chinchipe deja dos personas fallecidas en una mina”
“Dos muertos por deslizamiento en zona minera de Zamora”
Each row is one headline as an outlet published it, classified and extracted by a language model from the headline and snippet only; several outlets reporting one accident appear as several rows. Press reports, never an official record.
| Province | Registered | In process | Archived | Plants | Deaths (floor) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZAMORA CHINCHIPE | 1,019 | 133 | 1,676 | 1 | 7 | |
| AZUAY | 483 | 190 | 798 | 62 | 16 | |
| LOJA | 458 | 43 | 1,071 | 0 | 0 | |
| EL ORO | 449 | 102 | 960 | 82 | 6 | |
| MORONA SANTIAGO | 383 | 192 | 816 | 0 | 0 | |
| GUAYAS | 302 | 84 | 314 | 0 | 0 | |
| COTOPAXI | 189 | 15 | 279 | 0 | 0 | |
| NAPO | 189 | 36 | 373 | 0 | 0 | |
| SUCUMBIOS | 175 | 73 | 327 | 0 | 0 | |
| PICHINCHA | 164 | 24 | 228 | 0 | 0 | |
| CHIMBORAZO | 149 | 16 | 294 | 0 | 0 | |
| ESMERALDAS | 135 | 52 | 317 | 0 | 10 | |
| IMBABURA | 127 | 26 | 175 | 0 | 1 | |
| MANABI | 124 | 48 | 80 | 0 | 0 | |
| CAÑAR | 95 | 48 | 142 | 0 | 0 |
Concessions by status per province, plants by their registered province, and press deaths by the province in the headline.
| Regime | Registered | Hectares |
|---|---|---|
| No regime recorded | 2,759 | 27,401 |
| Small-scale mining | 1,675 | 420,904 |
| Large-scale mining | 246 | 796,619 |
| General regime | 214 | 137,246 |
| Medium-scale mining | 117 | 133,106 |
The cadastre's regime (small, medium, large-scale mining, or the general regime) on registered concessions; older archived titles mostly carry none.
| Holder | Registered | Plants | Press accidents | SRI status | Provinces |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MINISTERIO DE TRANSPORTE Y OBRAS PUBLICAS | 83 | 0 | 0 | AZUAY, BOLIVAR, CAÑAR, CARCHI, CHIMBORAZO, COTOPAXI, EL ORO, ESMERALDAS, GUAYAS, IMBABURA, LOJA, LOS RIOS, MANABI, MORONA SANTIAGO, NAPO, ORELLANA, PICHINCHA, SANTA ELENA, SANTO DOMINGO DE LOS TSACHILAS, SUCUMBIOS, TUNGURAHUA, ZAMORA CHINCHIPE | |
| ECUASOLIDUS S.A. | 42 | 0 | 0 | MORONA SANTIAGO | |
| FUENLABRADA CIA. LTDA. | 45 | 0 | 0 | AZUAY, CAÑAR, CHIMBORAZO, COTOPAXI, EL ORO, GUAYAS, MORONA SANTIAGO, ZAMORA CHINCHIPE | |
| GOBIERNO AUTONOMO DESCENTRALIZADO PROVINCIAL DE PASTAZA | 39 | 0 | 0 | PASTAZA | |
| EMPRESA NACIONAL MINERA ENAMI EP | 33 | 0 | 0 | AZUAY, BOLIVAR, CARCHI, CHIMBORAZO, COTOPAXI, ESMERALDAS, IMBABURA, PICHINCHA, ZAMORA CHINCHIPE | |
| GOBIERNO PROVINCIAL DE LOS RIOS | 25 | 0 | 0 | LOS RIOS | |
| GOBIERNO AUTONOMO DESCENTRALIZADO PROVINCIAL DE SUCUMBIOS | 23 | 0 | 0 | SUCUMBIOS | |
| CRUZ DEL SOL CSSA S.A. | 25 | 0 | 0 | CAÑAR, MORONA SANTIAGO, ZAMORA CHINCHIPE | |
| GREEN ROCK RESOURCES GRR SA | 23 | 0 | 0 | AZUAY, CAÑAR, CHIMBORAZO, LOJA, ZAMORA CHINCHIPE | |
| UNION CEMENTERA NACIONAL UCEM SA | 25 | 0 | 0 | MORONA SANTIAGO | |
| VALLE RICO RESOURCES VRR SA | 19 | 0 | 0 | BOLIVAR, COTOPAXI, ESMERALDAS, LOS RIOS, PICHINCHA, SANTO DOMINGO DE LOS TSACHILAS | |
| GAD PROVINCIAL DE NAPO | 17 | 0 | 0 | NAPO | |
| GOBIERNO AUTONOMO DESCENTRALIZADO DE LA PROVINCIAL DE ZAMORA CHINCHIPE | 20 | 0 | 0 | ZAMORA CHINCHIPE | |
| GOBIERNO AUTONOMO DESCENTRALIZADO DE LA PROVINCIA DE ESMERALDAS | 15 | 0 | 0 | ESMERALDAS | |
| GAD DE LA PROVINCIA DE MORONA SANTIAGO | 13 | 0 | 0 | MORONA SANTIAGO | |
| COMPANIA DE INVESTIGACION Y EXPLOTACION MINERA EXPLOMINAS S.A. | 21 | 0 | 0 | AZUAY, BOLIVAR, CHIMBORAZO, MORONA SANTIAGO, NAPO, PASTAZA | |
| GAD PROVINCIAL DE PICHINCHA | 19 | 0 | 0 | PICHINCHA, SANTO DOMINGO DE LOS TSACHILAS | |
| GOBIERNO PROVINCIAL DE MANABI | 15 | 0 | 0 | MANABI | |
| EXPORTADORA AURIFERA S.A. EXPAUSA | 15 | 0 | 0 | AZUAY, CAÑAR, CHIMBORAZO, EL ORO, ZAMORA CHINCHIPE | |
| GOBIERNO AUTONOMO DESCENTRALIZADO PROVINCIA DE ORELLANA | 13 | 0 | 0 | ORELLANA | |
| JESUS DEL GRAN PODER RUC 0702427006001 | 0 | 4 | 0 | active | |
| UNION CEMENTERA NACIONAL UCEM S A | 18 | 0 | 0 | CHIMBORAZO, COTOPAXI, GUAYAS, MORONA SANTIAGO, NAPO, TUNGURAHUA | |
| AURELIANMENOR S.A. | 16 | 0 | 0 | ZAMORA CHINCHIPE | |
| ECOLUXEN S.A. RUC 0992764249001 | 11 | 1 | 0 | EL ORO | |
| COMPAÑIA MILROMER S.A. | 16 | 0 | 0 | AZUAY, COTOPAXI, EL ORO |
Ranked by press events, plants, registered concessions and all concessions. Every titular has a page; this table shows the top of the ranking, with the SRI's status where a RUC is known.
ARCERNNR (Agencia de Regulación y Control de Energía y Recursos Naturales No Renovables), Catastro Minero Nacional (ArcGIS REST): 15,491 records, fetched Nov 1, 2026. →
ARCERNNR (Agencia de Regulación y Control de Energía y Recursos Naturales No Renovables), Plantas de Beneficio (ArcGIS REST): 145 records, fetched Nov 1, 2026. →
Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social (IESS), memo IESS-DSGRT-2026-1814-M, Employer-liability glosas, mining branch (CSV), mailed 2026-10-14: 6 records, fetched Oct 14, 2026. →
Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social (IESS), memo IESS-DSGRT-2026-1814-M, Fatal work-accident notices, mining branch, 2017 to 2026 (CSV), mailed 2026-10-14: 58 records, fetched Oct 14, 2026. →
The cadastre and the plant registry are read from ARCERNNR's ArcGIS REST services; the SRI through its public taxpayer lookup; the press through Google News RSS.