Ecuador exploration: A new frontier?

Ecuador, a country appropriately named due to its geographic position on the Equator, is also positioned in a very interesting geological area. Not only does it has a plethora of active volcanoes, but it is potentially a very prospective country for mineral exploration, given its northern position along the Andean belt (albeit with quite a different geological history). Recent gold and copper discoveries (e.g., Fruta del Norte and Cascabel) and the new governments more open policy to foreign investment and mineral exploration, has sparks a “semi-new” frontier for mineral exploration. I recently got to be a part of this by doing some exploration in the country. Thus, this blog post is about my brief encounter with exploration in the diverse and exciting country of Ecuador.

Giant copper deposits in Ecuador?

South America is home to the largest porphyry copper deposits in the world, with Chile and Peru being the top copper producing countries in the world (check out my Chile and Peru posts to learn more about these metalliferous countries). These types of deposits (i.e., porphyry copper) occur in elongated metallogenic belts for 100s to 1000s of kilometres (e.g., Sillitoe and Perello, 2005). The same metallogenic belts run from Chile to Peru and up to Ecuador and Colombia, however, these areas have been studied and explored much less. This is largely due to the countries’ thick jungle cover, in addition to active volcanoes and high Andean mountainous terrains.

Ecuador’s geological history isn’t as straight forward as the near-continuous arc accretion in Chile. It experienced quite a history of rifting, subduction, accretion and flat-slab subduction over the last 300 Ma. Most of the copper and gold (porphyry Cu) mineralizing events occurred around the Jurassic and Miocene ages.

Exploring in Ecuador’s diverse landscapes

For a relatively small country, Ecuador sure packs-a-punch when it come to dramatic change in climate and landscapes. The high Andean mountain chain runs through the country resulting in (literally) breathtaking high mountains and ominous active volcanoes. Towards the west there is a large, low-lying flat area known as the coastal plains. In-between the Andes and the coast there are tropical jungles and cloud rainforests. To the east of the country is the famous and stunning Amazon jungle. And even going further out to the west in the Pacific ocean you get the unique and diverse Galapagos Islands.

In the few weeks I was in the country, half of the time was up in the high Andes and the other half in the tropical cloud forests. The high Andes are very similar to Peruvian high Andes, with >4 km of altitude and stormy mountain weather and single-digit (°C) temperatures. It was quite amazing then driving only several hours and ending up in the cloud rainforest in what seems like a completely different country and part of the world! Weather here was very much like the tropics, i.e., very hot and humid, with mid-20s (°C) and lots and lots of warmish rain. One of the highlights in both areas though was running into the local community kids, who are always fun and curious, and most likely received a candy from the little bag I always had handy.

Final thoughts

Ecuador offers a lot for a little country, and potentially it has more yet to offer. It will be an interesting space to watch as the country evolves and opens up to exploration, of course with hopefully the best practices and consideration for social, environmental and economic factors going forward. As for me, it was a neat experience to trek around and be a part of this new exploration frontier in this diverse country.

-Stephanie

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