Announcement of Ecuadorian Copper, Zinc Mine Plans Five Million Twenty Thousand US Dollars Expansion on September 4, 1980

• Internationa!Finance Corooration IFC Press Release No. 81/14 Thursday, September 4, 1980 .1. 181 8 H Street. N W. Washington. D.C. 20433. US.A 202-4 77-1234 Ecuadorian Copper, Zinc Mine Plans $5.2 Million Expansion Outokumpu Oy of Finland, Metallgesellschaft of West Germany and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) will help finance the further development and exploitation of a promising copper and zinc ore body in Ecuador. Additional funds for the $5.2 million project will be provided by South American investors. The financing is for Compania Minera Toachi, S~A·~ an established com- pany which has been carrying out small-scale development of the "La Plata" ore deposit at Toachi, about 65 miles southwest of Quito. The company is owned by Compania de Minas Buenaventura of Peru, Outokumpu Oy of Finland and the Vollmer • interests of Venezuela. Equity financing for the project of $1.1 million is being provided by Metallgesellschaft of West Germany, a share offering to Ecuadorian investors and by IFC. Loans of $1 million each by IFC and Metallgesellschaft and cash generation of approximately $2.1 million complete the financial plan. Buenaventura operates four mines in Peru. Outokumpu 0y is engaged in worldwide mining and metallurgical activities. Metallgesellschaft is a large metals processing and trading firm operating internationally. The Vollmer interests are active in agribusiness, manufacturing and real estate. Toachi presently mines and processes about 24,000 metric tons of ore a year to produce copper and zinc and small quantities of silver and gold. The pro- ject is expected to confirm the existence of additional ore reserves and make them accessible, followed by expansion of processing facilities to 60,000 tons of ore i per year. The Toachi project is a pioneering effort to increase interest in mining ventures in Ecuador and encourage new investment. The project will benefit the Ecuadorian economy by adding about $7.9 million annually to exports with net •  - 2 - • foreign exchange earnings of some $'6 million a year. In addition, it will sub- stantially .ausment the country's mining and metallurgical technology through training of Ecuadorian engineers both on the job and in training visits to Buenaventura's mining operations. • [Any inquiries strictly relating to IFC's participation in this project should be dire·cted to the IFC Information Office, 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, Telephone (202) 676-0394.] •