Chile’s mining association asks Congress to reverse payment increase for mining claims

The president of Chile’s National Mining Association (Sonami), Jorge Riesco, met with Congress’s Mining Commission and requested a reversal of the cost increase of patented mining claims.

The increase is contemplated in Bill N° 21,420, which modifies certain aspects of the existing Mining Code and other legal instruments related to the mining sector.  

“It is important to maintain prices as they are for exploration and exploitation claims while analyzing the progressive development of the claim and mechanisms that allow for objective and transparent price increases, in accordance with the realities of small, medium and large-scale mining operations,” Riesco said at the meeting.

The president of Sonami emphasized that it is important to repel the increment and keep current prices as the baseline, while still developing strategies that allow for a reasonable and gradual increase that does not discourage miners but instead incentivizes exploration and development projects.

The executive also suggested speeding up and simplifying the granting of exploration and exploitation permits to bolster the country’s mining industry. 

Ticking clock

Sonami’s meeting with the lower chamber took place as only about half a year is left before the legal changes applicable to the mining industry that were introduced in Law No. 21,420 come into effect.  

Back in January, Law 21,536 was published in the Official Gazette postponing to January 1, 2024, the application of Law No. 21,420, which was initially planned to enter into force as of February 4, 2023.

In addition to delaying the cost increase of mining patents for exploration and exploitation to next year, modifications in Law 21,536 refer to changes to the coordinates of the geodetic reference system in Chile; new reporting obligations that mining concessionaires must comply with; eliminating the possibility of extending the current term of granted exploration concessions, and increasing the length of time of exploration concessions.

The delay is expected to allow Congress to have more time to correct certain issues already identified in the bill and consider the suggestions raised by the different stakeholders of Chile’s mining industry.

The South American country is the world’s top producer of copper and the no.2 producer of lithium.