Gold Occurrences in Ecuador

Coat of Arms of Wcuador

Ecuador is nestled between Colombia and Peru, but has seen nowhere the amount of exploration the other two countries have, a statement that is especially true of Peru.  According to some of the giants of the gold mining industry like Barrick and Newmont Ecuador is the prime place for exploration.  This is where the gold discoveries are going to be made, not in Peru where they are already mining gold.  Even though Colombia and Peru contain some really big deposits of gold Ecuador just hasn’t seen the level of exploration that has gone on in these other countries.

A great deal of gold has been found over the ages in south-eastern Ecuador including the gold used by the Incas from Pizzaro in the early 1500s.  This was enough gold to fill a room, but the Spaniards still executed the last of the Inca emperors.  The gold found here is epithermal in nature with drilling results by Aurelian Resources indicating a multi-million ounce deposit at their Fruta Del Norte project.

Today there are several exploration companies that are uncovering the enormous potential of this little explored region of South America.  Many of these exploration companies are working within a few kilometers from where Aurelian has its Fruta Del Norte property.  Many of these companies are exploring deposits that could potentially yield many ounces of gold.

Chimborazo one of the many volcanoes found in Ecuador that have epithermal gold deposits associated with them.
Photo by David Torres Costales

The majority of these companies are from Canada that are talking among themselves about arranging joint ventures.  The country of Ecuador is clearly open for business with all indications they have a government that is open for business and are prepared to act in a responsible manner.

Most of the Canadian and other companies are concentrating on the potential of developing lode gold deposits although there is plenty of room for placer deposits along the rivers and streams of Ecuador.  A great many of the deposits in this district are along tributaries of the Amazon River.

The potential for finding gemstones in this part of the world is also high it is just across the border in Colombia where some of the largest emerald mines in the world are located.  Years ago your author while exploring another of the tributaries of the Amazon discovered several sandbars that were littered with gem grade topaz that also contained placer gold.

Gold Occurrences in Colombia

Plate tectonics found in Colombia.

It doesn’t happen very often, but Colombia was the subject of a whole section in Engineering and Mining Journal (E&MJ) all about the boom in minerals there.  Colombia is the northern terminus of the Andes Mountains that is also one of the last areas in the Andes to be explored for minerals.  Even the author is interested in the goings on in Colombia because his friend Nick is developing a mine that is located between the Pig Pen and the Old Man in the northern Andes.  We have been consulting on this mine for the past year and although it is beyond the range of the internet Nick gives us regular reports on his progress whenever he gets into town.

Colombia has three different distinct areas where gold is found.  One of these areas is in the Andes proper where it is found as epithermal deposits in shear zones.  The area also contains placer gold. The second area is in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Mountains in the northeast of Colombia.  These mountains are not part of the Andes, but rather are a distinct mountain range in their own right that has the distinction of being the highest coastal range in the world at 5,700 meters (17,760 feet).  Although these mountains are reported to contain much gold it is protected by a tribe of Indians that were never conquered by the Spaniards that take a dim view of gold seekers that are after their gold.  The third area is in the Guyana Shield a large group of Precambrian Rocks that are found in the southeastern part of the country where they continue into Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela.

E&MJ considers Colombia as the last frontier of the Andes Mountains because so much has already been discovered in the Andes further south.  Gold is the least of the mineral wealth of Colombia the country is already the home of the largest deposits of emeralds on earth with finds dating back to the days of the Incas.  Colombia also contains coal measures that are largely being exported to Europe.  One company Xstrata produces high grade coal from its Cerrejon mine the largest in Colombia.

Getting back to my friend Nick in his prospecting he has discovered a pegmatite in the part of Colombia where he is prospecting that contains crystals of aquamarine of euclase,   This will show you that much more then gold can be found in Colombia.