Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/759903
28 www.resourceworld.com D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 for the industry but we are creating inex- pensive and clean energy. With these 900 electrical projects, 90% of the electricity generated in Ecuador is clean energy." "One of the biggest improvements that we have made is the road and high- way infrastructure that we have built," Cordova said. "The government has spent about $10 billion on roads through the country that provides good connectivity to mineral projects." Mineral explorers and miners depend a great deal on the receipt of various permits in a timely manner. "We have taken steps to streamline the permitting process," said Javier. "You have the three main permits for mining in different phases. There are the mining permits, the environmental permit and the water permit." Cordova remarked that in some jurisdic- tions it can take a couple of years to get an environmental license. "Here in Ecuador, the idea is to have an environmental license approved in maybe less than three or four months," said Cordova. "A couple of years ago, it used to take maybe one or two years – maybe more – so one of the biggest challenges we've made is to make the per- mitting process much better and faster so the companies can really focus on operat- ing and not lose time on permitting." He added, "Hopefully, in the future, we will continue to make it a lot easier with- out cutting any corners, of course. We want to receive a very good environmental study on how a company is going to man- age their environmental issues so we can grant a license." Ecuador still has problems with illegal mining. Cordova makes it clear that there are two kinds of artisanal miners – informal miners and illegal miners. "I want to make the distinction; informal miners are miners that for various reasons haven`t been able to formalize their operations under govern- ment regulations, so we are working with them to get their operations formalized with all the proper permitting they need, pay taxes, practice safety for their employees and provide proper working conditions." "Then you have the illegal miners. With the illegal miners the government has a committee formed by the ministry