The new Mining Law is in the hands of Correa
7/1/2008
Business Editors

The Minister of Mines and Petroleum, Galo Chiriboga, surrendered on Friday last week the agent Rafael Correa draft of the new Mining Law, reported yesterday by the Minister.

The mining authorities expect that the text be revised at Carondelet before making public the document. The analysis of the Executive include a dialogue with sectors related to the activity.

According to the official, the proposed text recover the concept of royalties for Fisco.

The rule proposes to set royalties and gradually establish a range in line with international scales, according to Ministry of advisers consulted by the Journal.

These currently range between 3 and 5% in the region. In any event is expected to set a royalty on sales after deducting certain expenses of the mining.

The final figure will, however, that defines the presidency of the republic.

Chiriboga anticipated that the new law will strengthen the environmental issue for the mining sector. This was revised legislation that applies in other countries such as Canada, Chile, Peru, etc..

The new law seeks to encourage mining activity with a new law to lift the existing restrictions on exploration, although increased state control in the sector with demands for investment and environmental protection, said last week the undersecretary of Mines, Jose Serrano . "What is being established is a mechanism in which not limit the number of concessions for the exploration phase, but also a procedure to reduce the concession areas as they are doing (this work)," explained the Reuters news agency.

The idea, according to the official, is that when completed the exploration phase the concessionaire has no more than 50% of the area originally sought. And when it starts operation is not taken more than 5000 hectares, he said.


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