Mining companies expressed concern about the Ecuadorian court's decision

Ecuador's mining industry is threatened by legal uncertainty because of the country's Supreme Court's decision to revoke an environmental permit for a project in a protected forest, the Ecuadorian Mining Association said on Wednesday.

Last week, the Constitutional Court revoked the environmental permit for preliminary exploration of the Rio Magdalena project in the Los Sederos forest in the north of the country.

The court said the project, developed by state-owned mining company Empresa Nacional Minera and Canadian partner Cornerstone, violated the prior consultation and forest protection rights of nearby communities.

However, the Ecuadorian Mining Chamber of Commerce said the court was beyond its terms of reference.

"in this decision, the court ignored the rights granted to the licensee by the state," the association said in a statement. "the industry is now seriously threatened by judicial insecurity brought about by this ruling."

Ecuador's Amazon region has two main gold and copper mines operating, while other projects have been halted due to community opposition.

Guillermo (Guillermo Lasso), Ecuador's president, a conservative former banker, has promised to provide more security for the mining industry to attract investment, while allowing the community to consult.

The government expects mining exports to reach $1.6 billion this year.

The Los Sederos Forest contains about 290 species of trees, thousands of insects and dozens of mammals per hectare, such as capuchins, black-headed spider monkeys and howler monkeys, many of which are in danger of extinction.

"the ruling sets a great precedent for national forest conservation," Jos é Quiva, spokesman for the Mining, Environment and Social Observatory, an advocacy group in northern Ecuador, told local media.

"the problem with Ecuador is that the mining industry is changing laws that benefit them."