Ecuador sends troops to crack down on illegal mining

Ecuador deployed troops Tuesday in a remote Andean region after deadly clashes between groups fighting for control of illegal mining activities.

President Lenin Moreno on Monday decreed a state of emergency for the resource rich region of La Merced de Buenos Aires, as part of a crackdown on illegal mining in the area.

The presidency said 2,400 soldiers and police entered the small mountain town at dawn on Tuesday.

Authorities would also investigate crimes such as homicide, sexual exploitation, people trafficking, tax evasion and money laundering, it said.

Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo told a news conference in Quito that "violent murders have taken place in the area" where more than 10,000 people are involved in illegal mining.

The government said that since last year, authorities had seized nearly 3,500 tonnes of rocks with unprocessed minerals from the area, and dismantled 92 criminal groups operating there, arresting more than 800 people.

The area is part of the northern province of Imbabura where Australian company SolGold is completing work on the Cascabel mining project which, according to the Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Resources, is set to become one of the world's largest.

The company estimates deposits at 9.5 million tons of copper, 20.3 million ounces of gold and 84.5 million ounces of silver.

Other mining projects have stalled because of tensions between the mining companies and local communities.

In landmark cases last year, Ecuadoran courts backed local and indigenous communities who said the government had failed to inform them of plans to exploit part of their lands.