Mining, water, and socio-environmental transformations in the Condor mountain range: Case study of the Mirador Mining Project, Ecuador

The article examines the impact of large-scale mining on water resources in indigenous territories, located in the southern Amazon of Ecuador, where the first open-pit mining project is being implemented. It explores territorial transformation processes from the perspective of water justice and dispossession through pollution in the expansion phase of the mine's exploitation. Mixed methodologies were applied through semi-structured interviews and surveys. The results identify socio-environmental conflicts associated with the impacts on water resources due to infrastructure construction, tailings facilities, and the production and transport of copper concentrate from the project. In the mining context, the socio-ecological landscape is not only restructured but the cultural makeup of the indigenous communities is also altered, as they inhabit sacrificial zones that reduce the availability and quality of water for subsistence and ancestral practices.