but isn't that what they said almost a year and a half ago? don't anyone hold your breath...just kidding:

TORONTO, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Kinross Gold (K.TO) expects to soon get the go-ahead to restart drilling at its Fruta del Norte deposit in Ecuador, which has been quiet since the country froze mining development last year, the company's chief executive said on Wednesday.

Ecuador said in March it planned to lift the ban on high-priority projects such as Fruta del Norte, one of the world's larger undeveloped finds with an inferred resource of 13.7 million ounces of gold.

Speaking at the Denver Gold Forum, Kinross CEO Tye Burt said via webcast that the Canadian company has received water and environmental permitting to resume activity and is now awaiting ministerial consent.

"At this moment, we're in the final stages of the so-called restart discussions," he said. "We're anticipating those permits very soon."

Kinross, which expects to produce between 2.3 million and 2.4 million gold-equivalent ounces this year, is hoping to begin mining the project as early as 2012.

Fruta del Norte is one of three key projects Kinross is hoping to bring to production in the next few years. Cerro Casale and Lobo Marte, which are both in Chile, are the others.

Kinross acquired the Fruta del Norte project when it bought Aurelian Resources last year.

The company hopes to release a final feasibility study on Cerro Casale in the next two months.

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idAFN1614330020090916?rpc=44