Aurania Provides Update ON New Mining Service Fee IN Ecuador
TSX-V: ARU
NR 2025-21
AURANIA PROVIDES UPDATE ON NEW MINING SERVICE FEE IN ECUADOR
Toronto, Ontario, July 28, 2025 – Aurania Resources Ltd. (TSXV: ARU; OTCQB: AUIAF;
Frankfurt: 20Q) (“Aurania” or the “Company”) provides an update on the Ecuadorian government’s
recently imposed new Mining Service Fee (Tasa de Fiscalización Minera or TASA) on the resource sector.
As previously disclosed in a press release dated June 11, 2025, the resolution put forth by the Ecuadorian
Control and Regulation Agency (“ARCOM”) in relation to new administrative fees for the mining sector
has now taken effect and the Company has received notice of the fee as it applies to its project in Ecuador.
The resolution was published in the Official Registry on June 20, 2025, and on June 27, 2025, ARCOM
issued a resolution outlining the official regulations detailing the payment collection mechanism for the
administrative fee. Under this new regulation, ARCOM has requested that the Company pay US$2,012,618
by July 31, 2025, equivalent to one month of the total annual administrative fee of $24,151,420. These
annual fees amount to more than Aurania’s current market capitalisation and present an unsustainable cost
burden for Aurania and other companies operating within the sector. These new fees are especially
burdensome for companies working in early-stage exploration, which is a critical component of the mining
pipeline, as standalone exploration-stage companies typically do not generate revenue and therefore rely
solely on investment through capital markets to fund their projects.
Aurania’s Chairman, President & CEO, Dr. Keith Barron commented, “Aurania has a long history of
working and investing in Ecuador. I’m a big believer in our project there, and I value the cooperative
relationships that we have built to date. However, the new fees are excessive and disproportionate. The
Mining Chamber along with other companies working in Ecuador are appalled by the administrative fee.
As we continue to work on possible solutions we will always endeavour to be fully transparent with our
shareholders and will continue to provide updates on this evolving situation.”
To our knowledge, four constitutional challenges against the new administrative fees have been presented
in Ecuador and are being analyzed by the Court to determine if the claims will be accepted. The decision
whether or not to accept the claims may take several months and, if accepted, the constitutional challenges
could take several years. In the meantime, if the claims are accepted, ARCOM may or may not be directed
to halt the collection of the fees.
The Company will wait for these procedures to follow their course, and it will assess its legal rights and
options for further courses of action.
2025 Concession Fees
In March 2025, the Company filed a request to enter into an agreement for the deferred payment of the
annual concession fees with the Ecuadorian tax authority (SRI) which total US$2,441,227 – see press
release dated March 31, 2025 . As part of this process, the Company will make a first payment of
US$488,245 equivalent to 20% of the 2025 concession fees plus accumulated interest by August 8, 2025.
The Company expects to continue to negotiate the payment terms for the balance of its 2025 concession
fees. A failure to reach an agreement could result in the remaining balance becoming immediately due and
payable and a potential forfeiture of the mineral concessions.
About Aurania
Aurania is a mineral exploration company engaged in the identification, evaluation, acquisition and
exploration of mineral property interests, with a focus on precious metals and copper in South America. Its
flagship asset, The Lost Cities – Cutucu Project, is located in the Jurassic Metallogenic Belt in the eastern
foothills of the Andes mountain range of southeastern Ecuador.
Information on Aurania and technical reports are available at www.aurania.com and www.sedarplus.ca, as
well as on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/auranialtd/, X (formerly Twitter) at
https://x.com/AuraniaLtd , and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurania-resources-ltd-.
For further information, please contact:
Carolyn Muir
VP Corporate Development & Investor Relations
Aurania Resources Ltd.
(416) 367-3200
Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-
V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking information as such term is defined in applicable securities
laws, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management’s current expectations
and assumptions. The forward-looking information includes Aurania’s objectives, goals and future plans in
respect of the administration fee imposed by ARCOM and the status and negotiation for the deferred
payment of the annual concession fees with the Ecuadorian tax authority.Such forward-looking statements
reflect management’s current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently
available to Aurania, including the assumption that, there will be no material adverse change in metal prices,
all necessary consents, licenses, permits and approvals will be obtained, including various local government
licenses and the market. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises
nor guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially
from those expected. Risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results
expressed or implied by the forward-looking information include, among other things: an inability to fund
the administrative fees imposed by ARCOM on the mining sector which could render the Company
insolvent; an inability to fund or extend the payment of Ecuador mineral concession fees which are due and
payable and which could result in the forfeiture of such mineral concessions; failure to identify mineral
resources; failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves; the inability to complete a feasibility
study which recommends a production decision; the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results; the
inability to recover and process mineralization using known mining methods; the presence of deleterious
mineralization or the inability to process mineralization in an environmentally acceptable manner;
commodity prices, supply chain disruptions, restrictions on labour and workplace attendance and local and
international travel; a failure to obtain or delays in obtaining the required regulatory licenses, permits,
approvals and consents; an inability to access financing as needed; a general economic downturn, a volatile
stock price, labour strikes, political unrest, changes in the mining regulatory regime governing Aurania; a
failure to comply with environmental regulations; a weakening of market and industry reliance on precious
metals and base metals; and those risks set out in the Company’s public documents filed on SEDAR+.
Aurania cautions the reader that the above list of risk factors is not exhaustive. Although the Company
believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news
release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of
the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed
time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-
looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as
required by law.