Mining company Ecoluxen S.A. was suspended for not having operating permits for its processing plant.

The company was mining quartz in Portovelo, El Oro. Government officials estimate it was processing about 1,500 tonnes of quartz a day, from which it would extract gold and silver. 

It’s one of the largest mining processors in Ecuador.

The plant was suspended in Dec. 2012, but stayed in operation in violation of the government order. Forty Ecuadorians were employed there.

Marcos Budín, a spokesperson for the company said that they were an “ecological” mining company.

“We don’t use chemicals: mercury, or the types of machinery that informal miners use. It’s a water-based plant.”

“In Germany, we have a similar plant in the middle of Frankfurt.”

Hernán Carrión, a lawyer for Ecoluxen, says the permits are being processed.

“Some bureaucrats put up barriers. We’ve fulfilled all the requirements and I don’t know why they don’t give us the permits.”