During the ordinary session this Thursday, the National Assembly unanimously approved the Organic Law of Mines, which includes 137 articles that regulate mining activity in the national territory and national and international investment.
After the legal instrument is approved, it will be sent to the Supreme Court of Justice so that the country's highest court can rule on its constitutionality.
According to the president of parliament, Jorge Rodríguez, the Organic Law of Mines ensures "that every resource of Venezuelan soil translates into well-being for the people."
The regulation establishes the basis for the creation of joint ventures; the guarantees of environmental protection and the sustainability of the sector.
"This legal instrument is fundamental to boosting national economic development and modernizing the legal framework for mining activity," Rodríguez said.
With the approval of the Law, the decree with the rank and force of the Mining Law of September 28, 1999, is repealed.
Among the provisions established, it is indicated that no official of the Venezuelan State may obtain concessions related to this Law, in addition to contemplating fines in the case that mining activities are carried out in areas under special administration.
The State may reserve for itself the primary activity related to radioactive minerals, as well as the marketing of its products.
The governing body will be the Ministry of Ecological Mining Development and Basic Industries, responsible for determining the "necessary parameters" regarding the payment of royalties of up to 13% to the Venezuelan State on the commercial value of the final product.
It is worth remembering that this reform and update was promoted by the acting president of the Republic, Delcy Rodríguez, to regulate the exploitation of resources in this sector as part of the most important productive and economic activities in Venezuela.
New institutions are created such as the National Superintendency of Mines, the National Bank of Scientific Data, where each of the minerals that lie in the subsoil of the nation will be registered, while protecting the environment, as stipulated.
Also noteworthy are the investment incentives, royalties adjusted to the productivity of the deposits, and legal certainty. Furthermore, production is strategically classified into small, medium, and large-scale mining operations, precisely to promote investment in this sector.
It is worth noting that the Minister for Ecological Mining Development and Basic Industries, President of the Venezuelan Guayana Corporation (CVG) and CVG International, Héctor Silva Hernández, was present during the debate, as well as several vice ministers of the sector, an indigenous representation from the state of Bolívar and a group of miners from the south of the country, to whom the approved legal text was symbolically delivered.
Upon the conclusion of the approval of the Law, the president of parliament thanked the deputies for their work.
"I am deeply grateful to the Special Commission that was in charge of drafting the Organic Law of Mines, and I congratulate the Ministry of the sector for the extensive consultations that were carried out throughout the country, so that we could finally unanimously approve this legal text that will be a vehicle for building the prosperity of the future," he stated.
