By ministerial agreement number MERNNR-MERNNR-2022-0012-AM of March 2, 2022, the Ministry of Energy and Renewable Natural Resources  (MERNNR) issued the regulations for the formation and operation of the public-private mining advisory council [1] in accordance with the provisions of article 7 of the Mining Law as a competence of the MERNNR, which states: “[…] Create Advisory Councils that allow citizen participation for decision-making in mining policies […]”; articles 4, 5 and 6 of the regulations to the Mining Law that establish the competences and powers of the public-private mining advisory council; and Executive Decree 151 of August 5, 2021, that provides for the formation of the public-private mining advisory council, whose main points are summarized below:

1. The purpose of the Regulation is to regulate the formation and functioning of the public-private mining advisory council in the country, which is defined as a mechanism for participation, advice and consultation for the fulfillment of the purposes of the mining policy.

• The public-private mining advisory council shall be composed of an advisory board and an advisory and management committee. The advisory board is composed of the Minister of the MERNNR or his delegate; a representative of the accredited diplomatic corps from a country making mining investments in Ecuador; and a member of the advisory and management committee[2] of the public-private mining advisory council. The principal and alternate directors will exercise functions for 2 years from their possession.

• The purpose of the public-private mining advisory council shall be (i) to be a consultative body of the MERNNR in mining and (ii) to recommend to the public-private mining advisory council in terms of public mining governance.

• The selection of the members of the mining advisory council will be carried out through a commission, whose process is described in articles 4 and 5 of the Regulations.

• The advisory directorate shall meet 2 times a year.  The execution of the sessions is described in articles 8 and 9 of the Regulations. It will have as its main attributions: to decide on “issues of mining interest that are brought to its attention by the Advisory and Management Committee“.; “Contribute to the dissemination of public mining policy”; “Issue opinions, recommendations, and observations on projects for regulatory development in the mining field”; and “To recommend to the Sectoral Ministry in the mining field the elaboration of projects to strengthen mining public policy”.

• The advisory and management committee will have as main attributions: “Participate in the fulfillment of the purposes of the mining public policy; “Advise on the organized construction of public mining governance”; “Generate spaces for relations with groups, associations, civil society organizations related to mining activity; and “Issue resolutions on issues of mining interest that will be brought to the attention of the Advisory Board”

Finally, the Regulation indicates that “[t]he decisions of the public-private Mining Advisory Council will be non-binding. “

[1] The Regulation was published in the Official Register third supplement number 20 of 14 March 2022.

[2] The Rules of Procedure provide for the following in respect of this committee:

“The Advisory and Management Committee, will be composed of ten (10) directors principal and ten (10) directors/s alternates, the same as they may be Representatives of organizations legally constituted under the Ecuadorian legal system, selected as follows: […]”; MERNNR delegates; ARCERNNR; Institute of Geological Energy Research; GADs; camars the productive sector; representative of large-scale mining, small-scale mining and artisanal mining, mining not Metal and building materials; the geological mining academy; non-profit institutions part of the mining sector.