Indigenous communities: effects on mining

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

What each map record means

• Communities: points represent registered locations, not land boundaries. A community’s legal personality and the indigenous status of land are separate matters. Law 19.253, arts. 9–12 and 15.
• CONADI land purchases, 20a and 20b: these show acquisitions linked to the subsidy and land dispute resolution mechanisms in art. 20. They include individual purchases; not every property is community-owned. To determine access rights, check current title, registrations and prohibitions. Art. 22 also establishes a 25-year restriction on transfer for the fund-financed acquisitions it regulates, with the statutory exception specified there. Law 19.253, arts. 20 and 22.
• Historical land grants (títulos de merced): relevant historical evidence for identifying indigenous lands, but the map alone does not establish current ownership or boundaries. Check original documents, registrations and the Public Registry of Indigenous Lands. Law 19.253, arts. 12 and 15.
• Indigenous development areas (ADI): these focus public action on a territory. Their designation does not make every property indigenous-owned or establish a mining prohibition by itself. Examine the specific land and effects. Law 19.253, arts. 26 and 27.
• Indigenous coastal marine spaces (ECMPO): these safeguard customary coastal uses; they are not terrestrial property. Distinguish applications, allocation and administration, and consult official status and acts. Law 20.249, arts. 3–10.

Applying for and retaining a concession

Mining ownership is independent of the surface estate. The land protections in Law 19.253 should not be read as a general exclusion of underlying minerals from the concession system. A pedimento or manifestación must meet its requirements and respect earlier rights; neither a community point nor an ADI automatically establishes rejection, nullity or lapse. Neither does this ensure that a project will be authorized. Code, arts. 2, 7, 22 and 27; Law 19.253, arts. 12, 13 and 26.

Access, installations, exploration and exploitation

A signature from someone in the community is not enough. Identify the owner, the land’s legal status and who may represent the owner. Law 19.253 art. 13 restricts transfers and encumbrances; an encumbrance requires prior CONADI authorization and cannot cover the family home or land necessary for subsistence. Community lands cannot be leased, lent for use or transferred to third parties for use, enjoyment or administration. Those acts are limited to five years for lands owned by indigenous individuals. Contracts contrary to that article are absolutely null. Law 19.253, arts. 13 and 14.

Before agreeing on access, roads, drilling or installations, check whether the legal instrument is admissible. Do not assume a mining easement is established or exempt from indigenous land rules: its provisions and the property’s restrictions must be examined together. Mining title, a private agreement and an Environmental Qualification Resolution (RCA) address different issues. Code, arts. 15, 113, 116 and 120–125; Law 19.253, art. 13.

Water and land of northern communities. Water found on the land of Aymara and Atacameño communities, such as rivers, canals, irrigation ditches, freshwater wells and springs, is owned and used by the community, without prejudice to rights registered by third parties. No new water rights are granted over lakes, ponds, springs, rivers and other aquifers that supply water owned by several communities unless their normal supply is guaranteed first. These rules also apply to other northern communities, such as the Quechua and Colla. Patrimonial lands of several communities, such as pastures, high-Andean wetlands (bofedales), hills and meadows (vegas), may not match the purchases, titles or points on the map. Law 19.253, arts. 62–64.

When indigenous consultation is required

Consultation is a state obligation for legislative or administrative measures likely to affect indigenous peoples directly. For subsurface resources, their interests must be consulted before undertaking or authorizing exploration or exploitation programs on their lands. The peoples must, wherever possible, share in the benefits of those activities and receive fair compensation for any damage they suffer; they may be relocated only exceptionally, with their consent or, failing that, after appropriate legal procedures. The analysis must not be confined to a community’s registered address: the Convention also protects relationships with territories and resources used. Convention 169, arts. 6 and 13–16.

Within the SEIA, the SEA must conduct consultation where the effects in Regulations arts. 7, 8 or 10 occur and indigenous groups are directly affected: ways of life and customs, location and protected resources, or cultural heritage. Consultation must be in good faith, through representative institutions, to reach agreement or obtain consent. The rule does not make every nearby location trigger consultation automatically, nor allow private meetings held by the project developer to replace it. SEIA Regulations, arts. 7, 8, 10 and 85.

The obligation to assess the project and the obligation to consult must be examined separately. Being outside the SEIA does not remove Convention 169 duties relating to relevant state measures. Failure to reach agreement is not by itself a general veto: art. 85 requires a process aimed at agreement and states that failure to achieve it does not imply an infringement of the right to consultation. Convention 169, art. 6; SEIA Regulations, art. 85.

Outside the SEIA, consultation by government bodies is governed by DS 66/2013. It covers discretionary administrative measures that directly cause a significant and specific impact on indigenous peoples as such. The RCA of a project that requires consultation is consulted under the SEIA rules. The duty is deemed fulfilled by a good-faith procedure, even if no agreement is reached. DS 66/2013, arts. 3, 4, 7 and 8.

If the project needs coastal works

An ECMPO can be relevant to a port, intake, pipeline or other coastal installation. Check overlapping and compatible uses and the application’s status. If an application to allocate the same area for other purposes is pending, such as a maritime concession for a port, outfall or intake, it is suspended until CONADI reports on customary use or the appeal is resolved; if customary use is proven, the coastal space application prevails (art. 10). Aquaculture or maritime concessions and management areas already granted are examined at the start of the procedure (art. 7). It does not generally suspend every mining pedimento or manifestación. Law 20.249, arts. 7–11.

Using this information before investing

1. Identify concessions, properties, communities and territorial uses separately, including access and works outside the mine.
2. Obtain current titles, certificates, plans and acts from the land registrar, CONADI and, where relevant, SUBPESCA. Check the date of each source in the record.
3. Define the works and their effects to resolve access, permits, environmental assessment and consultation before carrying them out.

PMD brings together sources with partial coverage. The incorporated purchases do not constitute the complete Public Registry of Indigenous Lands, and boundaries pending review are not drawn. Missing records do not establish absence of indigenous lands, communities or uses. Consult CONADI and SUBPESCA.