Solaris Resources and WIM Ecuador Launch an Academic Scholarship Program SOY MINERA (WOMAN MINER)
August 4, 2021 – Quito, Ecuador – Lowell Mineral Exploration Ecuador S.A. (“Lowell” or the “Company”), a subsidiary of Solaris Resources Inc. (“Solaris”), together with Women in Mining (“WIM”) Ecuador, officially launched the Soy Minera (Woman Miner) scholarship program that will finance undergraduate tuition for female engineering and/or undergraduate students in careers related to mining in Ecuador and promote the overall participation of women in the mining industry.
The event was attended by Mayra Garzón, Undersecretary of Artisanal Mining and Small Mining of the Vice Ministry of Mines, who stated, “Women need to be more present and recognized in the mining industry. The only way to build a different country is to join forces and create spaces like this. Congratulations, we are proud to participate in this type of initiative.”
This program responds to Solaris' commitment to the United Nations (“UN”) Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) and is aligned with the objectives of WIM Ecuador to support the participation of women in mining and female students pursuing degrees related to the industry.
Federico Velásquez, Vice President of Operations of Solaris Resources asserted, “Through the Soy Minera (Woman Miner) scholarship program, we support the mainstreaming of gender equality at our Warintza project, as well as the opportunity of the mining sector to incorporate actions, through investment, toward women empowerment in the industry.”
María Isabel Aillón, President of WIM Ecuador, stated that “Women in Mining was established as a space for women to achieve equal opportunities by promoting growth and development in administrative, technical, operational and managerial areas. Thanks to Solaris for providing this opportunity: today is a historic milestone for WIM Ecuador, which uses tools such as these to empower women to become leaders in the mining industry.”
The Soy Minera (Woman Miner) project will award scholarships of up to US$3,000 per semester per student dedicated towards tuition and/or living costs. The main criteria for receiving a scholarship include academic excellence, student leadership and contribution of knowledge.
Solaris Resources is the first company with operations in Ecuador to collaborate with WIM Ecuador in the promotion of this scholarship program.
In Ecuador, mining is an industry that is emerging as one of the economic engines of national development and opens a competitive professional market with important opportunities for women.
According to the Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources, only 1 in 10 workers in the national mining industry is a woman, while only 30% of women hold senior and managerial positions.
The involvement of women in productive and strategic sectors encourages the development of the purple economy in Ecuador, which aims to reduce the gender gap. According to the UN, if women held the same presence in the labor market as male counterparts, women could add up to US$28 trillion, or 26%, to global GDP by 2025.
Gender equality is clearly a challenge for the mining industry. Solaris contends that the mining industry has the potential to contribute to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goal (“SDG”) 5, gender equality, which aims to ensure the full participation of women, including equitable leadership opportunities for women in decision-making roles.
Solaris and WIM Ecuador have been working together to implement initiatives that promote the participation of women in mining. Through the Company’s Warintza project in Morona Santiago, this partnership provides the industry with an important space for empowering women in the communities of influence.
For Further Information:
Women in Mining Ecuador:
Gabriela Rumazo/Valentina Vergara
Direct: +593 99 800 8904
Email: registros@wimecuador.com
Instagram: @wimecuador
Lowell Mineral Exploration S.A.
María Fernanda Poveda
Direct: +593 99 655 6655
Email: maria.poveda@lowellmineral.com
About Women in Mining Ecuador
Women in Mining is a non-profit organization that has a presence in several countries around the world. It promotes the participation of women in the mining sector, informing industry participants and decision makers about the challenges and opportunities faced by women in mining and other businesses related to the industry’s value chain. The Ecuadorian chapter, WIM Ecuador, was founded in 2019 as a private, voluntary initiative, without political affiliation and was granted legal status through Ministerial Agreement No. MERNNR-MERNNR-2019-0060-AM issued by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources Non-Renewable on December 3, 2019.
About Lowell Mineral Exploration Ecuador S.A.
Lowell Mineral Exploration Ecuador S.A., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Solaris, promotes the development of strategic alliances with key stakeholders in Ecuador to pave the way for sustainable best practices of responsible exploration.
About Solaris Resources Inc.
Solaris is advancing a portfolio of copper and gold assets in the Americas, which includes: a high-grade resource with expansion and additional discovery potential at the Warintza copper and gold project in Ecuador; discovery potential on the grass-roots Tamarugo project in Chile and Capricho and Paco Orco projects in Peru; exposure to US$130M spending / 5-yrs through a farm-out agreement with Freeport-McMoRan on the Ricardo Project in Chile; and significant leverage to increasing copper prices through the 60%-interest in the La Verde joint-venture project with Teck Resources in Mexico. For more information, please visit www.solarisresources.com.
Cautionary Notes and Forward-looking Statements
This document contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively “forward-looking statements”). The use of the words “may”, “expect”, “will” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include statements regarding our intent, or the beliefs or current expectations of our officers and directors, including statements that Solaris will finance undergraduate tuition for female engineering and/or undergraduate students in careers related to mining in Ecuador, and promote the overall participation of women in the mining industry, and awarding up to US$3,000 per semester per student dedicated towards tuition or living costs. Although Solaris believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and/or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements since Solaris can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements also involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, including the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in the latest Solaris Management’s Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form available at www.sedar.com. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and Solaris does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements except as may be required by applicable securities laws.