On June 26th, CMOC group announced the completion of the acquisition of Canadian - listed company Lumina Gold, officially acquiring a 100% stake in the Cangrejos Project in Ecuador. The transaction was completed on June 24th, 2025.
On April 21st, CMOC group announced a C $581 - million all - cash acquisition of all common shares of Lumina Gold, with the core target being this primary gold - mine project in the Andean metallogenic belt.
The Cangrejos Gold Mine is located in El Oro Province, south - western Ecuador, in the globally renowned Andean polymetallic metallogenic belt, at an altitude of about 1100 meters. According to the pre - feasibility study report in 2023, the mine has a proven reserve of 1.376 billion tons, with an average gold grade of 0.46g/t, containing 638 tons of gold metal; the reserve is 659 million tons, with an average gold grade of 0.55g/t, containing 359 tons of gold metal; and the mine life is expected to be 26 years.
It is reported that the Cangrejos Gold Mine is planned to be put into production in 2028, with an annual gold production of about 11.5 tons after reaching full - capacity. According to the World Gold Council, Ecuador produced 24.3 tons of gold in 2024, and this project is expected to increase the country's gold production by nearly 50% after it is put into production.
As a typical porphyry - type deposit, the Cangrejos Gold Mine has obvious development advantages: it has a large - scale gold reserve, a shallow burial depth, and can be mined entirely by open - pit method, with a low stripping ratio. More importantly, the surrounding infrastructure is relatively complete: it is 30 kilometers away from the provincial capital Machala, 40 kilometers away from the main port, 20 kilometers away from a large - scale substation, and 8 kilometers away from the highway, with a sufficient water supply. It is expected to have a great advantage in development cost among similar projects worldwide.
CMOC group belongs to the non - ferrous metal mining and dressing industry, mainly engaged in the mining, dressing, smelting and other mining - extraction and processing businesses of base metals and rare metals, as well as metal trading business. It is a global leading producer of copper, cobalt, molybdenum, tungsten and niobium, and also a leading phosphate fertilizer producer in Brazil.
