Aurania Reports on ARCOM Announcement in Ecuador
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Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 11, 2025) - Aurania Resources Ltd. (TSXV: ARU) (OTCQB: AUIAF) (FSE: 20Q) ("Aurania" or the "Company") reports on a resolution recently put forth by the Ecuadorian Control and Regulation Agency ("ARCOM" for its Spanish acronym) related to a new administrative fee on the mining sector. This resolution has not yet been published in the Official Registry, and therefore, to our knowledge is not yet in effect.
The intention of this resolution is for all participants in the mining/exploration industry in Ecuador to fund ARCOM's efforts to stop illegal mining, strengthen oversight, and enhance the operational capacity of ARCOM.
The document provides assessments of the amount each mining/exploration company is expected to pay based on the type of regime, size of concessions and stage of exploration. As presented, this proposed fee would require the Company to pay approximately US$24 million this year by July 31st. This figure is insupportable and represents approximately ten times the amount the Company pays for its annual concession fees in Ecuador.
The Company is collaborating with the Mining Chamber of Ecuador's legal commission and all other mining/exploration companies in Ecuador, to ensure that relevant authorities understand that this fee is not feasible and will likely place the whole mining/exploration industry in Ecuador at risk. If the resolution is implemented as currently outlined, the regulation would result in an unsustainable cost burden for companies operating within the sector and may undermine confidence in Ecuador's regulatory consistency and commitment to mining development.
The Company has reached out to the Ecuadorian Government at the highest levels and will continue in discussions with the Mining Chamber of Ecuador and the Company's respective legal counsels as joint industry efforts are taking place to prevent this regulation from being implemented. The Company will assess options for further courses of action.
About Aurania
Aurania is a mineral exploration company engaged in the identification, evaluation, acquisition, and exploration of mineral property interests, with a focus on precious metals and copper in South America. Its flagship asset, The Lost Cities - Cutucu Project, is located in the Jurassic Metallogenic Belt in the eastern foothills of the Andes mountain range of southeastern Ecuador.
Information on Aurania and technical reports are available at www.aurania.com and www.sedarplus.ca, as well as on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/auranialtd/, Twitter at https://twitter.com/auranialtd, and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurania-resources-ltd-.