Curiplaya Project
The Curiplaya Project (the "Project") covers an area of 3,964 hectares or almost 40 square kilometres. The Project is located near the village of Bramaderos in the Paltas Municipality of Loja Province in south-western Ecuador. The Project is located approximately 220 kilometres to the south-east of the port town of Machala and approximately 140 kilometres to the west of the city of Loja, the capital of the province.
The Project is accessible by vehicle from the city of Loja, a 2.5 hour drive, along the well-paved Pan-American highway which actually passes through the western portion of the Project. Loja is well serviced by daily flights (45 minutes) from the capital city of Quito. Vehicle access within the Project, along un-maintained dirt or gravel roads, is quite extensive in the north central portion of the Project. Further access elsewhere on the concessions is feasible only by foot along paths, streambeds and open ground.
The 40 square kilometres of concessions comprise conical hills and steep-sided ridges separated by relatively wide alluvial plains. The elevation ranges between 800 metres and 1,100 metres. Agricultural production is minimal because of the arid, semi-desert, climate. Several permanent creeks and rivers, fed from surrounding highlands, cut the concession.
The climate of the Curiplaya region is hot and dry (semi-desert) with an average daily temperature of 25oC. Annual rainfall is 797 mm with a wet season from the end of December to April. Vegetation comprises open forest and scrub. Land use is mostly pastoral with some crops grown in isolated fields (e.g. maize). The concession is located within the catchment area of the Rio Playas; a tributary of the Rio Catamayo that becomes the Rio Chira in Peru and eventually drains into the Pacific Ocean.