Quito, Ecuador – Just days before the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Solaris Resources (SLS.TO), principal Indigenous organizations together will soon release a scathing public statement denouncing the company and its flagship Warintza Project, said to be the root cause of escalating conflicts and rising among the Indigenous Shuar Arutam People (PSHA) who have historically opposed the proposed mine. The project is located in the Cordillera del Condor, a biodiversity hotspot at the intersection of the Andes and Amazon ecosystems. It is increasingly evident that the increase in conflict in Shuar territory is directly correlated to the fall in the company’s share price and has affected its ability to attract capital, jeopardizing the viability of the project and the company.

Solaris’ AGM happens at a time when the company is struggling to recover from a drop in share prices stemming from regulatory scrutiny and lowered investor confidence after the highly anticipated CAD $130 million deal with Chinese company Zijin Mining prematurely fell through. Solaris also succumbed to regulatory pressure after finally disclosing the material risks associated with PSHA’s complaint to the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) in a June 14 prospectus and was subject to a continuous disclosure review by the BCSC shortly after the complaint’s filing, where it was forced to amend its prior technical report. 

In an attempt to pacify growing investor concerns in the leadup to its AGM on June 24 in Vancouver, BC, Solaris geared up to sell more equity in Canadian and U.S. markets to inject new capital for the Warintza Project and solicited underwriting support from Canadian banks such as RBC, BMO, and National Bank Financial. 

Mary Mijares, Finance Campaigner at Amazon Watch states: “It is evident that Solaris is desperate to win back the trust of investors who are starting to doubt the efficacy of its management and transparency of its communications. The fact is that the project keeps facing social opposition and conflict and financial difficulties, and it remains a threat to the Amazon. As Solaris’ AGM nears, investors must not take the company’s word at face value. They must look at the complete picture and recognize that money put into Warintza will be subject to too much risk.”

In a new statement directed to Solaris and its shareholders released on June 20, the PSHA and the other principal Indigenous organizations from the south of Ecuador, say: “Solaris has entered our territories illegally and without consultation, especially in the communities of Yawi and Warints, co-opting former leaders, dividing communities and families, and provoking confrontations between our organizations. Nevertheless, the unity and ancestral strength of the Shuar-Achuar prevails. We are ancestral peoples and nationalities that have existed since before the very existence of the Ecuadorian state.” 

The statement ratifies similar messages of the PSHA throughout the whole period in which Solaris has tried to develop its Warintza project. It also shows that Solaris continues to obscure its clear lack of a social license to operate. This lack of consultation violates the PSHA’s rights as guaranteed in the ILO Convention 169 enshrined in Ecuador’s constitution, as well as the international United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). 

These claims were included in a complaint filed in February ahead of the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference in Toronto. It argues that Solaris misled investors by failing to disclose material risks associated with Indigenous opposition to the Warintza project for over two decades, rendering it impossible to develop. The complaint also highlights that the project lacks proper consultation and consent of the PSHA. This argument was backed by findings from the International Labor Organization (ILO) released in March 2024, which concluded that the PSHA, comprising 47 communities spread across 230,000 hectares in which the Warintza project is located, had not been consulted. 

The conflict over the Warintza project reflects a broader pattern of conflict between Canadian mining companies and Indigenous communities, exacerbated by a history of environmental and social harm documented in the recent report Unmasking Canada: Rights Violations Across Latin America. As Indigenous groups mobilize against extractive industries, supported by civil society organizations, it underscores the urgent need to hold mining companies accountable for their actions and prioritize Indigenous rights and environmental protection over corporate interests. 

Kevin Koenig, Climate, Energy, and Extractive Industry Director at Amazon Watch, states: “Industrial mining for copper and gold is expanding throughout the Amazon basin, often in the name of the “green” energy transition away from fossil fuels. But the industry is taking a major toll on the region’s environmentally fragile and culturally sensitive areas and violating the rights of Indigenous peoples as the Amazon biome reaches a dangerous tipping point.” 

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