EcuaCorriente

What EcuaCorriente does

EcuaCorriente S.A. (ECSA) is an Ecuadorian privately-held mining company that operates the Mirador Copper Mine, located in the parish of Tundayme, canton of El Pangui, province of Zamora-Chinchipe in southeastern Ecuador. The Mirador mine is Ecuador's first large-scale metal mining operation and was officially inaugurated on July 18, 2019. The company is incorporated under Ecuadorian law as the operating entity for the project, which is developed and owned by China Railway Construction Copper Crown Investment Co., Ltd., a joint vehicle of two Chinese state-owned enterprises — Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Holdings Limited and China Railway Construction Corporation Limited. The project is positioned as a flagship China-Ecuador cooperation model under China's Belt and Road Initiative in South America.

The core technology is conventional large-scale open-pit mining with integrated ore processing facilities. Phase 1 is designed to mine and process 20 million tonnes of ore per year, equivalent to roughly 60,000 tonnes per day, yielding 354,000 tonnes of copper concentrate and 96,000 tonnes of metallic copper annually. Estimated resources at Mirador stand at 860 million tonnes at a 0.525% Cu grade (4.516 million tonnes of contained copper), and the adjacent Mirador Norte deposit adds an additional 596 million tonnes at 0.44% Cu. The company also maintains a tailings storage facility (Relavera Tundayme), a formal Environmental Management System, and an electronic procurement portal for equipment, materials, services, and supplier tenders. Headcount exceeds 2,400 direct employees (49% drawn from Zamora Chinchipe province) and supports more than 10,000 indirect jobs through supply contracts.

Commercially, ECSA is a single-asset commodity producer. Its sole revenue stream is the sale of copper concentrate and metallic copper to international buyers, with primary exports directed to Chinese copper smelters and commodity traders. Pricing follows international copper market rates and is not publicly disclosed. Distribution involves land transport to the port of Guayaquil for ocean shipping. ECSA has secured seven Environmental Licenses from Ecuador's Ministry of Environment between 2014 and 2020, holds ISO-aligned environmental commitments (including 197 hectares of vegetation recovered by end-2019), and has invested over US$6 million in community development between 2010 and 2019, alongside an annual US$200,000 skills-training program for local Ecuadorian employees. Corporate headquarters are in Quito (Edificio Citiplaza) and operating headquarters are at the Mirador camp in Tundayme.

Name

EcuaCorriente

Legal name

ECUACORRIENTE S.A.

Website

https://ecsa.com.ec

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

EcuaCorriente S.A. (ECSA) is an Ecuadorian mining company that operates the Mirador Copper Mine — Ecuador's first large-scale metal mine — producing copper concentrate and metallic copper primarily for export to Chinese smelters under a Belt and Road Initiative joint venture with Chinese state-owned enterprises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Copper Mining

NAICS

Copper, Nickel, Lead, and Zinc Mining (212230)

SIC

Metal Mining (1000)

akta.pro primary industry

Copper Ore Mining (Open-Pit & Underground) (IMAKADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Copper Exploration & Resource Development (IMAKADAA), Copper Concentration (Crushing, Grinding, Flotation) (IMAKADAC), Copper Tailings, Waste & Water Management (IMAKADAL), Copper Mine Closure, Remediation & Reclamation (IMAKADAN)

Keywords

• Copper mining
• Mineral extraction
• Copper concentrate
• Open-pit mining
• Mining operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Quito

HQ country

Ecuador

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Copper Concentrate Sales: Mining and production of copper concentrate from the Mirador mine, processing 20 million tonnes of ore annually to produce 354,000 tonnes of copper concentrate and 96,000 tonnes of metallic copper per year. Export of concentrate primarily to China.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

EcuaCorriente S.A. operates the Mirador Copper Mine, a large-scale open-pit copper mining operation located in Tundayme, Zamora Chinchipe, Ecuador. The mine processes 20 million tonnes of ore annually, producing 354,000 tonnes of copper concentrate and approximately 96,000 tonnes of metallic copper per year for export to international smelters. The company is the operator of the first large-scale metal mining project in Ecuador, with estimated mineralized reserves of approximately 860 million tonnes.

Product overview

EcuaCorriente S.A. (ECSA) operates as a large-scale copper mining company with a single primary product: the Mirador Copper Mine. The mine utilizes conventional open-pit mining and processing methods with a designed capacity of 20 million tonnes of ore processed annually, producing copper concentrate (354,000 tonnes/year) and metallic copper (96,000 tonnes/year). The company also operates an online electronic tender/procurement portal for sourcing equipment, materials, services, and suppliers for mine operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mirador Copper Mine (open-pit copper mining and processing) Large-scale open-pit copper mining operation located in Tundayme, Zamora Chinchipe, Ecuador, producing copper concentrate and metallic copper for export to international smelters and traders. Annual ore processing capacity of 20 million tonnes; estimated mineralized reserves of approximately 860 million tonnes.
• Copper concentrate Copper concentrate produced at the Mirador mine at an annual volume of 354,000 tonnes, exported to international smelters for further processing into refined copper.
• Metallic copper Metallic copper produced from Mirador mine operations at an annual volume of approximately 96,000 tonnes, sold on international commodity markets.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96,000 tonnes/year of metallic copper production capacity
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves2 records

Broad incumbents

• Glencore: Global diversified mining and commodity trading giant with major copper mining operations and integrated trading arm. Comparable in copper concentrate production and trading offtake dynamics, though much larger and diversified across multiple commodities.
• Codelco: Chilean state-owned copper mining company, the world's largest copper producer. Comparable as a large-scale open-pit copper producer in Latin America with long-life assets, though significantly larger and state-owned by Chile.
• Freeport-McMoRan: One of the world's largest publicly traded copper producers with major open-pit operations globally. Most directly comparable as a large-scale open-pit copper concentrate producer and exporter, though far more diversified by geography and metals.

Direct peers

• First Quantum Minerals: Mid/large-cap copper miner operating open-pit copper mines with concentrate production. Highly comparable in business model: produces copper concentrate for export to smelters, with operations in jurisdictions facing political and regulatory complexity (e.g., Panama, Zambia).
• Hudbay Minerals: Mid-cap copper miner with open-pit and underground operations in the Americas producing copper concentrate. Comparable in mine type and concentrate production model, though smaller scale and more diversified.
• Capstone Copper: Mid-cap copper miner with open-pit operations in the Americas producing copper concentrate. Comparable in scale, mine type, and concentrate-focused business model to ECSA.
• Southern Copper Corporation: Major open-pit copper miner in Latin America (Peru/Mexico) producing copper concentrate and cathodes. Highly comparable in mine type, scale, and concentrate export business model.
• Antofagasta plc: Chile-based copper miner operating large open-pit copper mines producing copper concentrate. Comparable in mine type, concentrate output, and Latin American operating environment, though operating in Chile rather than Ecuador.

Others

• China Railway Construction Corporation: Major Chinese state-owned construction company that is co-investor in ECSA's Mirador project and provides infrastructure/EPC expertise. Related as parent/partner rather than competitor; comparable as a vertically-integrated mining investor.
• Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group: Chinese state-owned nonferrous metals group that is one of ECSA's two key shareholders and an integrated smelter/refiner. Comparable as a vertically integrated copper player, but functions as parent/investor rather than a mine operator competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/EcuaCorrienteSA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ecuacorriente-s.a.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about EcuaCorriente