The San Carlos Panantza mine is a large copper mine located in the south of Ecuador in Zamora-Chinchipe Province.
San Carlos-Panantza is one of the largest copper reserves in Ecuador and in the world having estimated reserves of 600 million tonnes of ore grading 0.59% copper.
It is being developed by ExplorCobres S.A., a subsidiary of the state-owned Chinese company CRCC-Tongguan Investment Co. Ltd that is also developing Mirador.
Operations were halted at San Carlos Panantza by Indigenous Shuar resistance in late 2020.
[2] The mine's opposition demands consultation with Indigenous people and protection of water; foreign investment in Ecuador's mining industry has been opposed before during the 2012 Ecuadorian protests.