Next Article in Journal
University Students’ Preferences for Labour Conditions at a Mining Site: Evidence from Two Australian Universities
Next Article in Special Issue
MoGeo, a Mobile Application to Promote Geotourism in Molise Region (Southern Italy)
Previous Article in Journal
Sustainability Assessment of Food Redistribution Initiatives in Sweden
Previous Article in Special Issue
Regional Geotourist Resources—Assessment and Management (A Case Study in SE Poland)
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Resources
Volume 9
Issue 3
10.3390/resources9030028
resources-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of the “El Sexmo” Tourist Gold Mine (Zaruma, Ecuador) as A Geosite and Mining Site

by
Paúl Carrión-Mero
1,2,*,
Oscar Loor-Oporto
3,
Héctor Andrade-Ríos
3,
Gricelda Herrera-Franco
4,
Fernando Morante-Carballo
5,
María Jaya-Montalvo
3,
Maribel Aguilar-Aguilar
3,
Karen Torres-Peña
3 and
Edgar Berrezueta
6,*
1
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
2
Facultad de Ingeniería en Ciencias de la Tierra, 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
3
Bira Bienes Raíces S.A. (BIRA S.A.), Av. Alfonso de Mercadillo, P.O. Box 071350 Zaruma, Ecuador
4
Facultad de Ciencias de la Ingeniería, Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena (UPSE), Avda. principal La Libertad—Santa Elena, La Libertad 240204, Ecuador
5
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
6
Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME), C/Matemático Pedrayes 25, 33005 Oviedo, Spain
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Resources 2020, 9(3), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/resources9030028
Submission received: 6 December 2019 / Revised: 25 February 2020 / Accepted: 26 February 2020 / Published: 10 March 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geoheritage and Geotourism Resources)
Browse Figures
Versions Notes

Abstract

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.
Keywords: geotourism; geosite; mining site; Zaruma; El Sexmo; tourist mine geotourism; geosite; mining site; Zaruma; El Sexmo; tourist mine

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Carrión-Mero, P.; Loor-Oporto, O.; Andrade-Ríos, H.; Herrera-Franco, G.; Morante-Carballo, F.; Jaya-Montalvo, M.; Aguilar-Aguilar, M.; Torres-Peña, K.; Berrezueta, E. Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of the “El Sexmo” Tourist Gold Mine (Zaruma, Ecuador) as A Geosite and Mining Site. Resources 2020, 9, 28. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources9030028

AMA Style

Carrión-Mero P, Loor-Oporto O, Andrade-Ríos H, Herrera-Franco G, Morante-Carballo F, Jaya-Montalvo M, Aguilar-Aguilar M, Torres-Peña K, Berrezueta E. Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of the “El Sexmo” Tourist Gold Mine (Zaruma, Ecuador) as A Geosite and Mining Site. Resources. 2020; 9(3):28. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources9030028

Chicago/Turabian Style

Carrión-Mero, Paúl, Oscar Loor-Oporto, Héctor Andrade-Ríos, Gricelda Herrera-Franco, Fernando Morante-Carballo, María Jaya-Montalvo, Maribel Aguilar-Aguilar, Karen Torres-Peña, and Edgar Berrezueta. 2020. "Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of the “El Sexmo” Tourist Gold Mine (Zaruma, Ecuador) as A Geosite and Mining Site" Resources 9, no. 3: 28. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources9030028

APA Style

Carrión-Mero, P., Loor-Oporto, O., Andrade-Ríos, H., Herrera-Franco, G., Morante-Carballo, F., Jaya-Montalvo, M., Aguilar-Aguilar, M., Torres-Peña, K., & Berrezueta, E. (2020). Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of the “El Sexmo” Tourist Gold Mine (Zaruma, Ecuador) as A Geosite and Mining Site. Resources, 9(3), 28. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources9030028

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop