I think the basic idea is certainly not a new one, nor a bad one. Ecuador wants to kick start mining. Historically they have a had a lot of speculators (as opposed to explorers) owning the rights to vast areas of land, that NEVER have any thoughts of actually exploring. They are tied into old contracts that cost next to nothing to renew and sit on them, until one day the actual land is worth drilling up by someone serious, then the speculator drives the price up and walks away with a boatload of cash having done nothing.

The gov't wants to eliminate these middlemen. Makes sense to me. Doesn't affect guys that are drilling...serious explorers. But Correa and any other Ecuadorian president's longevity is fairly short. So he's not interested in waiting for these speculators to finally sell off to serious explorers 20 years down the road. He wants the land explored now-thus creating wealth and jobs for the locals now.

You had the right idea with Lateegra. They sit and wait for someone else to make their property worth money then sell it off to the highest bidder.

Any company sitting on land and not putting a drill in the ground should be shaking. So be it. Don't call yourself a gold exploration company if you don't own/lease a single drill. Step aside and let the real men do it. This could be an opportunity for ARU.

If you took back 100's of thousands of hectares from deadwood speculators...who would you let drill it? Maybe companies with a proven track record IN Ecuador WITH their locals.   

It's time to start looking at the positive side of these news releases. I think Correa and the boys are headed in the right direction.

And ARU will be right beside them.

safeharbour