Challenges & Opportunity

Ascendant is as concerned with the promotion of social responsibility as it is with the communication of truth. Environmental groups have falsely published accounts of human rights violations and environmental harm in the past, and these accusations are, above all, disrespectful of the flourishing Ecuadorian community that Ascendant seeks to serve and protect.

Ascendant values the enhancement of community living standards as a top priority, choosing to demonstrate this concern with tangible actions rather than empty rhetoric. The company has thus established education, health care, and job opportunities within the communities that surround its project locations. Without unyielding corporate social responsibility and environmentally sustainable practices, Ascendant would not be the successfully growing company that it is today.

Regional Difficulty – Ascendant's Challenge

A socially responsible approach to exploration and mining is particularly important given that the company's principal project, Junin, in Garcia Moreno Parrish of the Intag valley is located in one of the poorest regions of Ecuador. Ninety percent of the region’s inhabitants subsist on less than $200 per month and the region is severely lacking in basic social infrastructure such as potable water.

Education levels are very low; only 50% complete primary and less than 5% complete secondary school and most parents do not have the financial resources to finance their children's continuing education. Rather than accept these difficulties as realities of the region, however, Ascendant has chosen to help the community heal before the company seeks its own success.

The region also faces considerable environmental challenges, all of which Ascendant seeks to help rather than harm with its progress. Deforestation is advancing at an alarming rate, and according to Satellite studies the area could be completely deforested in 10 years. This process is driven by local people harvesting wood to provide income to their families. With gainful employment driven by Ascendant’s presence and programs, this deforestation cause could be eliminated.

Another major environmental challenge is waste management; the Parrish does not have a waste disposal site, collection or disposal process. Rivers are being contaminated by fertilizer and pesticide use, and there is a high incidence of water-born disease in the area. Company efforts to eradicate these problems will continue to aid the region long after the company itself has departed.

Ascendant, with its resources and management capability, recognizes that it is in a position to make a positive contribution to the development of its community. The company has collaborated with the Parish Council of Garcia Moreno to identify five priority areas which the company will support, including Education, Health, Agriculture, Productivity and Environmental Management. The company gives strong preference to local hiring and training in order to make human rights and improved lifestyles as sustainable as Ascendant’s environmental practices.

Community Development Agreement

In November 2006, we signed a community development agreement (the “Agreement”) with the communities of the Intag region of northern Ecuador in which Ascendant’s Junin copper-molybdenum porphyry project is located.  The Agreement was signed between the Company and representatives of the Organization for the Development of Intag (“ODI”) as well as with the Parish Council of Garcia Moreno and the Women’s Association of Garcia Moreno. 

ODI is a grassroots non-governmental organization formed in September 2006 in an assembly attended by representatives of the vast majority, over 90, of the communities located in the Intag region.  These communities came together in recognition of the need to have a broad-based organization to promote and coordinate the development interests of the people in the region.    

The Agreement states that the Company will contribute for qualifying social projects and programs a total of US$4 million over the next four years – US$1 million each year for the duration of the exploration phase of the Junin project.  These funds will be dedicated exclusively towards social development projects that are centered on health, education, women’s issues, environmental conservation and community infrastructure programs.  Such projects, to be jointly agreed upon between ODI and the Company, will be funded contingent that they are environmentally responsible, involve the sustainable use of local resources, and will provide benefit for the greater good of all of the communities.

The Agreement, which becomes effective 60 days after the Company attains unrestricted access to its Junin concessions and commences exploration activities, provides that the social funds will be allocated, consistent with community representation in ODI, in a 70/30 split between communities within the direct and indirect areas of influence, respectively, of the proposed exploration activities. Included under the terms of the Agreement, the Company agrees to employ a minimum of 80% of its employees for the Junin project from the Intag communities. 

By way of the Agreement, the communities, through ODI and the Garcia Moreno Parish Council (the legally recognized local government), have pledged their support towards the exploration and development of the Company’s Junin project. Gary E. Davis, President of Ascendant, stated “This hallmark agreement sets a new standard in corporate social responsibility for our industry in Ecuador and clearly demonstrates the communities´ support for the Company’s mineral exploration activities in the area.  It will allow the people of the Intag to begin realizing their visions of a more prosperous and revitalized region while permitting the Company to commence work on a project and support programs that can lead to long-term sustainable development in the area.”

On the same day, and in the presence of the community representatives, the Company also signed agreements with the Provincial Development Agency of Imbabura (“ADEPI”) and the Ecuadorian Polytechnical Military School (“ESPE”).  ADEPI will provide technical assistance to ODI and the Company in the elaboration of sound and priority social and infrastructure projects.  ESPE will perform a land use and market study of all the agricultural lands held by the Company to identify the best use of these lands for the purpose of the community commercialization of locally grown produce.