The last gold nail in the "SPIRITUAL"coffin . THANK YOU KINROSS.

Ecuadorean lawmakers passed a bill on Monday to create large-scale mining projects in the country - for a second time but with minor changes.

The legislature first passed the bill on Jan. 12, but President Rafael Correa partially vetoed it a week later because of what he said was a language error that would have given private companies rights to projects discovered by the state.The law will go into effect when it is published in the country's official register. It was approved by a 50-3 vote with 12 abstentions.

The government says the law will open the door to a potentially lucrative and traditionally underdeveloped industry in the small Andean nation.

Environmental and Indian rights organizations say it could damage the environment, threaten water resources and infringe on human rights. Indian groups have established protests and promised to sue to have it declared unconstitutional.

Correa has criticized those opposed to the law as "fundamentalists" who would "condemn us to forever be beggars sitting on a sack of gold."

In April 2008, Ecuador revoked nearly 80 percent of the country's mining concessions, passing some to the state and canceling others. Affected companies include Aurelian Resources Inc., International Minerals Corp. and Iamgold Corp., all of Canada.

The companies could resume projects under the new law.