Ecuador energy minister nominee withdraws after leaving miner's board

Adventus Mining

28/05/2021 22:06

QUITO, May 28 (Reuters) - Newly-installed Ecuadorean
President Guillermo Lasso's pick to be the oil-producing
country's next energy and mines minister withdrew from
consideration on Friday, a week after resigning from the board
of directors of a mining company.
    Roberto Salas had served as vice president of private
agroindustrial and real estate conglomerate Nobis Group before
Lasso, a conservative, nominated him for the role shortly before
taking office on May 24. 
    Salas had served on the board of Toronto-based Adventus
Mining Corp  ADZN.V , in which Nobis is a shareholder. Adventus,
which is seeking to develop the El Domo - Curipamba copper and
gold mine in the South American country, said in a May 25
statement that Salas resigned from its board on May 21.
    "It is essential to be rigorous in the strict compliance
with the legal requirements necessary to assume a public role,"
Salas wrote in a LinkedIn post on Friday. "The time necessary to
adequately resolve my private affairs would delay my
incorporation to the government more than is prudent."
    Lasso's government did not immediately comment on Salas'
withdrawal or indicate who it would nominate as a replacement.
    Ecuador's energy ministry oversees its oil, mining and
electricity sectors. The country produces around 500,000 barrels
per day of crude, the lifeblood of its economy, and Lasso has
pledged to double that level in his four-year term.
    The government has also in recent years sought to attract
international mining investment to help diversify the economy
amid a liquidity crisis that prompted Ecuador to turn to the
International Monetary Fund.

 (Reporting by Alexandra Valencia
Writing by Luc Cohen and Alistair Bell)
 ((luc.cohen@thomsonreuters.com; +58 424 133 7696; Reuters
Messaging: Twitter: @cohenluc))