Mining restrictions: general

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

Before filing a pedimento or manifestación

• Check whether the substance is eligible for a mining concession. Lithium, liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons, and deposits in maritime waters or areas declared important for national security for mining purposes are subject to the special regime in arts. 7 and 8. Earlier concessions covered by art. 7 are preserved; art. 5 includes minerals beneath the seabed accessible through tunnels from land. A concession for other substances in the same deposit does not freely authorize appropriation of substances excluded from concessions (art. 9). Surface clays and materials directly usable in construction fall outside the Code (art. 13). Mining Code, arts. 5–9 and 13.
• Review earlier rights. Overlap with another application does not by itself invalidate a filing, but gives neither priority nor permission to constitute another concession over minerals already covered by an existing concession. Check dates, priority rights and objections: Code, arts. 27, 40 and 41; Code Regulations, art. 14.
• Check the applicant’s eligibility. Certain judges, public officials and family members face prohibitions, some territorial and others related to their position, subject to the exceptions in Code art. 22.

A land access restriction or an art. 17 permit requirement does not by itself prohibit filing an application. The Regulations allow those permits to be requested while the concession is pending, conditional on its constitution; until that condition is met, they do not authorize the relevant works. The limited works permitted upon registration of a pedimento or manifestación are not a general operating authorization either. Regulations, art. 7; Code, arts. 17 and 53.

Accessing the land and exploring

Without your own concession, the general right to prospect and dig does not allow searching within someone else’s concession. On open, uncultivated land it operates under art. 15; elsewhere, written permission from the owner, possessor or occupier is required (or from the presidential delegate or the mayor when the owner is the State or the municipality), with recourse to a judge in the cases provided. For houses and their dependencies and for land with vineyards or trees, only the owner may authorize access. The Code refers to fruit trees; Law 18.097 refers to land with trees or vineyards. Damage must be compensated. Judicial prospecting permission carries conditions, a maximum six-month term and security if the affected party requests it. Code, arts. 14–16 and 19; Law 18.097, art. 7.

A constituted exploration concession remains subject to the limitations referenced in art. 113. You may own only the minerals necessarily extracted for exploration. Extraction for profit constitutes exploitation and can cause the lapse provided in art. 115. An exploitation concession (pertenencia) allows both exploration and exploitation, subject to art. 116. Code, arts. 113, 115 and 116.

Locations requiring special permission for mining works

These rules apply to both exploration and exploitation through arts. 113 and 116. Distances expressly described as horizontal are not measured along the slope. Code art. 17 requires written permission for:

• Cities or settlements, cemeteries, beaches of authorized ports and water intake sites serving a town. Also within 50 horizontal meters of buildings, public roads, railways, high-voltage power lines, cableways, conduits, river defenses, watercourses and public-use lakes; and within 200 horizontal meters of reservoir structures, radio stations, antennas and telecommunications installations (No. 1).
• Border areas expressly declared for mining purposes: permission from the Dirección de Fronteras y Límites. Proximity to a border does not replace the declaration and its boundaries (No. 3).
• Within 500 meters of explosive or flammable material depots: permission from the Ministry of National Defense (No. 4).
• Military areas and premises: Defense permission. Adjacent land extends up to 3,000 horizontal meters only where declared necessary for national defense; this is not an automatic buffer around every military site (No. 5).
• Guano deposits and places declared of historical or scientific interest: permission from the President of the Republic. Except for guano deposits, the declaration must be expressly for mining purposes, specify boundaries and bear the Mining Minister’s signature (No. 6).

The No. 1 exemption based on ownership or the owner’s authorization covers only the listed assets: buildings, railways, high-voltage lines, cableways, conduits, radio stations, antennas and telecommunications installations. It does not extend to public roads, waters, reservoirs or the other listed places.

The statutory reference to the former provincial governor now corresponds to the competent presidential delegation, with the special rule for provinces containing a regional capital. Constitution, twenty-eighth transitional provision and art. 116.

Preparing permits and land access

Identify the area, attach a plan or sketch and describe works, dimensions, personnel, installations and estimated production. The authority must give a reasoned decision and may impose protective measures. The regulatory 90-day decision period and the absence of third-party comments do not mean automatic permission. Before a judge establishes a mining easement or allows provisional use, the art. 17 permits required for those works must be submitted. Regulations, arts. 3–7.

Title does not allow unilateral occupation of any surface area. Access and installations may require agreements or easements and compensation for damage. Working without art. 17 permits can result in fines, compensation and provisional judicial suspension; that infringement does not by itself automatically terminate the concession. Code, arts. 18 and 120–125.

A mining permit does not replace other requirements

Before carrying out the project, determine whether it must enter the Environmental Impact Assessment System (SEIA) and, if so, whether a declaration or a full environmental impact study is required. These are separate questions under Law 19.300, arts. 8, 10 and 11. Among the projects that must be assessed, the law lists mining development projects, including prospecting, and works in protected areas where their legislation allows them (art. 10 i and p); the regulations set the thresholds. Mining safety rules referenced by Code arts. 113 and 116 also apply.

Protected areas can impose stricter prohibitions. Law 21.600 removed the former No. 2 of Code art. 17: the old regional governor’s permission is no longer a solution for work in parks or reserves. Its arts. 57–59 prohibit commercial exploitation of natural resources in wilderness reserves, national parks and natural monuments; art. 63 includes industrial activities and infrastructure. Other categories require compatibility with their conservation purpose and management plan. Earlier situations also require review of transitional provisions. Law 21.600, arts. 57–63, 154 and sixth transitional provision. In nature sanctuaries, starting construction or excavation work requires prior authorization from the competent agency. Law 17.288, art. 31.

Archaeological and paleontological remains

Sites, ruins, deposits and anthropological-archaeological pieces on or below the surface are archaeological monuments owned by the State by operation of law; the law also covers paleontological pieces and the places where they are found. They need no declaration and need not appear on any map. Archaeological, anthropological or paleontological excavations require prior authorization from the National Monuments Council (Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales); if the project enters the SEIA, this is PAS 132. Law 17.288, arts. 21 and 22; SEIA Regulations, art. 132.

If remains appear during drilling, road building or other work, you must notify the Council’s Technical Secretariat immediately and safeguard the find. Where necessary to prevent its deterioration, activities stop only in the area of the find. The Council has 20 calendar days from the notice to decide whether authorization is required; finds involving human remains always require it. Failure to notify is subject to a fine, and the companies or contractors in charge of the works are jointly liable for damages. These rules, amended by Law 21.850, took effect on November 1, 2026. Law 17.288, arts. 26 and 26 bis.

A small project is not automatically exempt as a “minor intervention.” Article 26 bis provides for a notice procedure, but its criteria must be established by regulation. As of November 1, 2026, publication of that regulation and the operational procedure had not been verified; the statutory deadline for issuing it is six months after entry into force, through May 2027. Before relying on this procedure, verify the applicable criteria and requirements. DS 484/1990 regulates heritage excavations and surveys generally and must be read in light of subsequent amendments; it is not the new regulation under Article 26 bis. Law 21.850, art. 16 and ninth and fifteenth transitional provisions; DS 484/1990.