Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of the “El Sexmo” Tourist Gold Mine (Zaruma, Ecuador) as A Geosite and Mining Site
Paúl Carrión-Mero,
Oscar Loor-Oporto,
Héctor Andrade-Ríos,
Gricelda Herrera-Franco,
Fernando Morante-Carballo,
María Jaya-Montalvo,
Maribel Aguilar-Aguilar,
Karen Torres-Peña,
Edgar Berrezueta
Affiliations
Paúl Carrión-Mero
Centro de Investigaciones y Proyectos Aplicados a las Ciencias de la Tierra (CIPAT), ESPOL Polytechnic University, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Campus Gustavo Galindo Km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, P.O. Box 09-01-5863 Guayaquil, Ecuador
Oscar Loor-Oporto
Bira Bienes Raíces S.A. (BIRA S.A.), Av. Alfonso de Mercadillo, P.O. Box 071350 Zaruma, Ecuador
Héctor Andrade-Ríos
Bira Bienes Raíces S.A. (BIRA S.A.), Av. Alfonso de Mercadillo, P.O. Box 071350 Zaruma, Ecuador
Gricelda Herrera-Franco
Facultad de Ciencias de la Ingeniería, Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena (UPSE), Avda. principal La Libertad—Santa Elena, La Libertad 240204, Ecuador
Fernando Morante-Carballo
Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matemáticas, Geo-recursos y Aplicaciones GIGA, ESPOL Polytechnic University, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Campus Gustavo Galindo Km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, P.O. Box 09-01-5863 Guayaquil, Ecuador
María Jaya-Montalvo
Bira Bienes Raíces S.A. (BIRA S.A.), Av. Alfonso de Mercadillo, P.O. Box 071350 Zaruma, Ecuador
Maribel Aguilar-Aguilar
Bira Bienes Raíces S.A. (BIRA S.A.), Av. Alfonso de Mercadillo, P.O. Box 071350 Zaruma, Ecuador
Karen Torres-Peña
Bira Bienes Raíces S.A. (BIRA S.A.), Av. Alfonso de Mercadillo, P.O. Box 071350 Zaruma, Ecuador
Edgar Berrezueta
Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME), C/Matemático Pedrayes 25, 33005 Oviedo, Spain
Zaruma is host to the ‘‘El Sexmo’’ tourist mine, the galleries of which extend below the city, and its exploitation dates back to precolonial times. The mining boom created important development in the area, but informal mining also emerged causing environmental issues and safety problems. This study presents a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the “El Sexmo” Tourist Mine in the context of its potential as a tourism geosite and mining site. The methodological stages included: (i) The process and systematization of the general mine information and its surroundings; (ii) the assessment of the geological and mining interest of the mine, through GAM and Brilha method; and (iii) description and proposal of action strategies through Delphi analysis and a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) matrix. Based on the results of the quantitative evaluation, the high values in the educational, scientific, and tourist aspects of the two applied methodologies, show the mine as a potential geosite and mining site with added cultural value. In addition, the quantitative assessment in correspondence with the qualitative analysis, allowed to propose improvement strategies to take advantage of the geological resources and mining identity of the area, as an alternative that strengthens the infrastructure of the mine and consolidates the geotouristic development of the area.
