Solaris Resources (TSX:SLS) Finalizes Partnership with the Pueblo Shuar Arutam, Moves Warintza Project Forward September 11, 2025 | Posted by: Matthew Evanoff

Solaris Resources Finalizes Landmark Agreement with Indigenous Organization for Ecuador Copper Project

Solaris Resources (TSX:SLS) (NYSEAmerican:SLSR) has reached a significant milestone by securing a formal agreement with the Pueblo Shuar Arutam (PSHA), completing partnerships with all Indigenous organizations surrounding its Warintza copper project in southeastern Ecuador.

The agreement with PSHA, which represents approximately 10,000 people across 47 Shuar centers, follows a carefully structured engagement process that began with the approval of a joint working group in January 2025 and a Letter of Intent in February. This new formal partnership builds upon Solaris’s existing Impacts and Benefits Agreement with the Warints and Yawi Shuar Centres, originally signed in 2020 and subsequently updated in 2022 and 2024.

“This agreement reflects the strong collaboration between PSHA and Solaris, as well as our shared commitment to strengthening the communities and families of Morona Santiago,” said Marcelo Unkuch, PSHA president. “The agreement seeks to generate concrete and sustainable benefits, and we remain committed to ensuring that future generations enjoy the lasting advantages of responsible mining.”

Matthew Rowlinson, Solaris CEO and president, emphasized the strategic importance of these community partnerships: “With this signing, we have now established formal relationships with all Indigenous organisations surrounding Warintza, in addition to our ongoing collaboration with local authorities. These agreements generate strong momentum for the continued advancement of the project.”

The PSHA agreement complements Solaris’s earlier trilateral agreement with the Interprovincial Federation of Shuar Centers—Ecuador’s largest Shuar organization—and its partnership with the Alliance for Entrepreneurship and Innovation of Ecuador. These relationships form a critical social foundation for the project’s development in a region where community support is essential for mining operations.

On the regulatory front, Solaris submitted its final Technical Environmental Impact Assessment to Ecuador’s Ministry of Environment and Energy in August 2024. The company reports that it has addressed all government inquiries, and the assessment is currently under ministerial review.

In July 2025, officials from the ministry and Sub-Secretary of Mines conducted a site visit and met with Indigenous and local stakeholders to assess readiness for Ecuador’s Free, Prior and Informed Consultation process—a mandatory requirement for large resource projects in the country. According to Solaris, this consultation process is expected to commence in the coming months, representing another crucial step toward project approval.

“We are advancing every facet of project de-risking with discipline and determination,” Rowlinson noted. “Warintza is a uniquely positioned asset, long-life, near-term, and aligned with the world’s future resource needs.”

Technical development continues simultaneously, with Solaris working alongside consultants Ausenco, Knight Piésold and AMC on a Pre-Feasibility Study. This study will incorporate an updated Mineral Resource Estimate that includes the Warintza West zone for the first time. The company has scheduled completion of this technical milestone for the second half of 2025.

The Warintza project represents a significant potential development in Ecuador’s mining sector, which has been gaining international attention as the country seeks to diversify its economy beyond traditional oil exports. Copper’s growing importance in renewable energy technologies and electric vehicle manufacturing has heightened interest in deposits like Warintza.

Financial stability for the project’s development pathway was recently bolstered through a transaction with Royal Gold, which Solaris indicates will provide long-term liquidity for continued advancement toward a Final Investment Decision.

Ecuador’s mining sector has experienced regulatory changes and evolving community relationships in recent years as the government works to balance resource development with environmental and social considerations. Solaris’s approach of securing comprehensive Indigenous agreements before major development decisions reflects the evolving standards for resource projects in the region.

The completion of these agreements, along with the ongoing environmental review and technical studies, marks significant progress in de-risking the Warintza project and positions Solaris to advance toward potential production in one of South America’s emerging copper regions.