Ecuador

2024 Report

Full data release with tables here.

In 2024, Ecuador was estimated as the sixth-ranked producer of pumice, accounting for 4.0% of world production. Other mineral commodities produced in Ecuador included barite, cement, clays, copper, gold, silver, raw steel, stone (unspecified), and sand and gravel. Data on mineral production are in the Production table (formerly table 1). Production of mineral commodity production (not including mineral fuels) contributed an estimated 2.1% to Ecuador’s gross domestic product. The value of Ecuador’s mineral exports in 2024 (including the value of exports of copper, gold, lead, and silver concentrates, and other unspecified minerals) totaled \$3.1 billion or 8.9% of the country’s total exports. China was the top destination for Ecuador's copper concentrate exports in 2024, while Switzerland was a leading buyer of its gold exports, followed by the United States (Banco Central del Ecuador, 2025a, b; United Nations Statistics Division, 2025; Crangle, 2026).  

The legislative framework for the mineral sector in Ecuador is provided by law No. 45/2009. The Ministerio de Energía y Minas [Ministry of Energy and Mines] is the principal Government body responsible for the administration, regulation, and control of the mining sector. Most of the mining and mineral-processing operations were privately owned, with artisanal mining constituting a substantial segment. The Facilities table (formerly table 2) is a list of major mineral industry facilities (Republica del Ecuador, 2025). More-extensive coverage of the mineral industry of Ecuador can be found in previous editions of the U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook, volume III, Area Reports—International—Latin America and Canada, which are available at https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nmic/south-america.  

Commodity Review 

The pumice mining industry in Ecuador was characterized by its decentralized structure, making it difficult to name individual excavators. Instead of large corporations, the sector is dominated by numerous small- to mid-sized quarries and family-run enterprises. Much of the extraction is in the volcanic provinces of Cotopaxi, Imbabura, and Tungurahua (Onate and Paredes, 2022). 

References Cited 

• Banco Central del Ecuador, 2025a, Año 1990–2024—Boletín anuario nro. 47—Comercio exterior—Exportaciones por producto principal 3.2.2 [Year 1990–2024—Annual bulletin no. 46—Foreign trade—Export by main product 3.2.2]: Quito, Ecuador, Banco Central del Ecuador (Accessed September 15, 2025, at https://contenido.bce.fin.ec/documentos/PublicacionesNotas/Catalogo/Anu….) [In Spanish.] 

• Banco Central del Ecuador, 2025b, Año 2000–2024—Boletín anuario nro. 47—Cuentas nacionales—Producto interno bruto 4.1.7 [Year 2000–2024—Annual bulletin no. 47—National accounts—Gross domestic product 4.1.7]: Quito, Ecuador, Banco Central del Ecuador (Accessed September 15, 2025, at https://contenido.bce.fin.ec/documentos/PublicacionesNotas/Catalogo/IEM….) [In Spanish.] 

• Crangle, Rob, 2026, Pumice and pumicite: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity  

• Summaries 2026, p. 148–149. 

• Onate, M.J., and Paredes, F.K., 2022, Diseño de un geo polímero utilizando como material precursor piedra pómez de las provincias de Cotopaxi, Imbabura y Tungurahua [Design of a geopolymer using pumice from the Provinces of Cotopaxi, Imbabura, and Tungurahua as a precursor material]: Riobamba, Ecuador, Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo, May 04, 2 p. (Accessed June 24, 2026, via https://dspace.unach.edu.ec/bitstream/51000/9012/1/O%c3%b1ate%20Miranda….) [In Spanish.] 

• Republica del Ecuador, 2025, Ley de mineria—No. 45 [Mining law—No. 45]: Quito, Ecuador, Republica del Ecuador. (Accessed September 15, 2025, at https://www.gob.ec/sites/default/files/regulations/2018-09/Documento_Le….) [In Spanish.] 

• United Nations Statistics Division, 2025, 2024 annual trade data: Geneva, Switzerland, United Nations Statistics Division. (Accessed September 15, 2025, via https://comtradeplus.un.org/.)