Areas of scientific interest: effects on mining

Document review: November 1, 2026. Sources open in a new tab.

What you may apply for and what you need to work

• Pedimento or manifestación: the ZIC does not by itself prevent filing or constituting a concession. Substances, earlier rights and other restrictions must also be checked. You may request the art. 17 permit during the proceeding, conditional on the concession being constituted. Law 18.097, arts. 3 and 5–7; Code Regulations, art. 7.
• Drilling, test pits and other exploration or exploitation works: you need written permission from the President of the Republic under art. 17 No. 6 and must comply with its conditions. There is no general exemption for a small campaign or one outside the SEIA. Desk-based research should not automatically be treated as on-site mining works. Code, arts. 17, 113 and 116.
• A concession predating the decree: its age does not establish permission for new works. Check the scope of existing authorizations. Overlap does not automatically grant an annual fee exemption, reduction or extension of the concession term. Code, arts. 17, 112 and 142 onward.

The declaration must expressly apply for mining purposes, define boundaries and bear the Mining Minister’s signature. A scientific name, an observatory or a map point does not meet those requirements by itself. Permit conditions depend on the place and proposed works; they may protect access routes, locations or specific scientific values. Code, art. 17; Regulations, arts. 4–6.

If the project must enter the SEIA

Determine whether PAS 122, the permit for mining works at guano deposits or places of historical or scientific interest, applies. It requires information on location, access, works, waste, contact water, substances and emissions to conserve the associated ecosystem. This permit has exclusively environmental content: a favorable Environmental Qualification Resolution (RCA) orders its issuance under the specified conditions, and the competent authority issues it without further processing when the RCA is presented. This does not require a second discretionary environmental assessment, nor does any generic RCA necessarily cover this permit. SEIA Regulations, arts. 108 and 122.

First determine whether the project must enter the SEIA, then whether it requires a full Environmental Impact Study (EIA). Overlap with a layer named “scientific interest” does not answer both questions. The works, protected purpose and potential effects matter. Law 19.300, arts. 8, 10 and 11.

Astronomy: three different situations

• ZIC declared for mining purposes: the regime above applies. Declarations and extensions cover La Silla, Las Campanas, Tololo, Paranal–Armazones and Chajnantor–ALMA, among other locations. An extension decree does not necessarily represent the entire original area. La Silla, DS 109/1977; Las Campanas, DS 43/1978; Tololo, DS 349/1999; Paranal, DS 52/1986.
• The 29 communes in DS 2/2023: these areas of scientific value for astronomical observation cover whole communes in Antofagasta, Atacama and Coquimbo. They are not 150-km circles. This decree does not by itself require a presidential mining permit. A project that must enter the SEIA and is susceptible to affecting these areas under the statutory conditions requires an EIA; location in one of the communes does not automatically require every project to enter the system or submit an EIA. DS 2/2023, sole article; Law 19.300, art. 11(d).
• Radio-frequency protection: this may constrain transmitters and interference from nearby installations. It is not by itself a mining prohibition. MinCiencia describes SUBTEL protections for ALMA; PMD does not yet display their radii as verified legal boundaries because the original resolutions and annexes still need to be checked. MinCiencia manual, pp. 25–26.

Outdoor lighting, including industrial operations, is subject to direction, intensity and spectral requirements. This is not a general ban on night work, but in outdoor work areas where no work is under way, lighting must be switched off or its installed luminous flux reduced by at least 50%. The standard has applied since October 2024: new sources had two years to comply, that is, until October 2026, and those installed in special protection areas, such as astronomical areas, must comply from its entry into force. Existing sources in astronomical areas have until October 2029, except sodium lamps, LEDs that meet the color temperature limit for the rest of the country and sources in the distant communes listed in Resolution 455/2024, which may comply when they are replaced. Projects that entered the SEIA after October 18, 2023 are subject to the standard. MMA DS 1/2022, arts. 1–5, 11 and 20; Resolution 455/2024.

The SEA’s 2024 astronomy criterion ceased to apply on March 20, 2026. Its thresholds must not be used as current criteria. Withdrawal did not repeal the decrees or Law 19.300. The 2025 ministry proposal and technical observatory radii are not presented here as new legal zones. SEA Resolution 202699101269; extract published March 20, 2026.

Other declarations identified

ZIC areas are not limited to observatories. Decrees were also recovered for places of solar, paleontological, conservation and research interest: María Elena, DS 224/2009; Cerro Ballena, DS 38/2013; Karukinka, DS 16/2015; Pirque, DS 68/1981; Cerro Águilas, DS 167/1985; Lo Aguirre, DS 237/1995.

Not all these declarations are represented in the layer. Before applying a restriction to a property, check the decree, its plans and amendments. The historical inventory combines zones and extensions and does not establish a complete national register.

What to check when selecting an area in PMD

1. Open the decree linked in the record and verify the location, boundaries, original act and extensions. For San José de Maipo, consult DS 78/2005; for Armazones, DS 36/2017; for ALMA, DS 185/1998 and its extension DS 90/2005.
2. Define the works and verify permits, conditions, land access and environmental assessment before carrying them out.
3. Check overlapping protections: a ZIC permit does not remove prohibitions applicable to a park or another protected area. Law 21.600, arts. 57–63 and sixth transitional provision.

If a concession predates a protected area: compare the title date with the creation of the area, not just the publication of Law 21.600. Its sixth transitional provision addresses the continuation of concessions and, separately, activities that had a favorable RCA. Applying it to a mining operation requires reviewing the title, area category, works and existing permits; the title’s age alone does not authorize new works. Law 21.600, sixth transitional provision.

Working without permission can result in fines, compensable damage and provisional judicial suspension, without automatic lapse solely for that infringement. Code, art. 18.

Coverage of this layer

The layer includes 19 ZIC sectors (13 under DS 78/2005, Cerro Armazones and five Chajnantor/ALMA extensions), 29 astronomical municipalities under DS 2/2023 and 22 reference locations of observatories and scientific facilities. These designations have different effects and should not be counted as 48 ZICs.

Coverage is partial. The layer does not include all ZICs in Chile, the original DS 185/1998 area or SUBTEL radio protection boundaries. Official boundaries prevail; the absence of a polygon does not establish the absence of restrictions. Observatory points do not define exclusion zones or establish that a facility is operational.