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Mines Act

Original Language Title: Ley de Minas

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Mining Law


Document: Mining Law
Type of document: Law
Date of issue: 21/12/1994
Number of Legal Instrument: Law No 76
Broadcaster: National Assembly of People's Power
Date of entry to the repository: 18/05/2016
Source:
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RICARDO ALARCON DE QUESADA , President of the National Assembly of the People's Power of the Republic of Cuba.

I DO KNOW That the National Assembly of People's Power, in its session held on the twenty-first day of December of a thousand nine hundred and ninety-four, corresponding to the fourth regular session of the Fourth Legislature, has approved the following:

AS REGARDS : The Law of Mines and the Decree-Law of Bases for the New Law of Mines, which began to govern in Cuba on October 10, 1883, have been the subject of successive changes, which acquired special relevance from 1959 at the beginning of the fundamental changes in our society that led to the assumption by the State of the means and fundamental instruments of production.

AS REGARDS : The Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, in its article 15, paragraph (a), establishes that they are of the socialist state property of all the people, among others, the subsoil, the mines, the waters and the natural resources both alive and not alive within the maritime economic zone of the Republic.

AS REGARDS : It is necessary to rework our Mining Legislation in harmony with the current socio-economic reality, to incorporate new institutions, to remove those that are inapplicable and to accept the most recent contributions of the legal doctrine in that In order to promote and achieve, with the necessary control by the State, the elevation of the geological knowledge of the country and the most efficient and rational exploitation of its resources, it will integrate the characteristics and principles of the Cuban society. mineral resources, while ensuring the protection of the environment during the implementation of all type of mining activity and the prevention of any environmental impact related to it.

AS REGARDS : In addition, it is necessary to rework and update in the legal text itself the procedures related to the granting of mining concessions, their control and control and the taxes inherent in them.

FOR TANK : The National Assembly of People's Power, in use of the powers conferred on it in Article 75 (b) of the Constitution of the Republic, approves the following:

ACT NO. 76

LAW OF MINAS

CHAPTER 1

OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE LAW

Article 1. This law is called the Mining Law and aims to establish the mining policy and the legal regulations of this activity in such a way as to guarantee the protection, the development and the rational use of the mineral resources according to the interests of the nation, drawing mandatory directives controlled by government officials linked to the activity.

ARTICLE 2.-For the purposes of this Law, mineral resources are defined as all concentrations of solid and liquid minerals in the soil and subsoil of the national territory, as well as in the seabed and subsoil of the zone. The economic situation of the Republic, in the extension that sets the law.

Radioactive minerals and liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons are governed by their specific legislation. The radioactive minerals which constitute a companion or a low law, are also governed by this Law.

ARTICLE 3.-For the purposes of the interpretation, compliance and application of the provisions of this Law, the following definitions are established

Residual Accumulations : Accumulation of solid material, or non-usable liquid in a given technological process.

Canon : Amount to be paid for the enjoyment of some property of the State.

Queues : Non-usable waste of a certain processing, which still contains minerals.

Concentrations of ore : Natural accumulation of minerals.

Tailings : A set of leftovers originated as a result of the mining work that will be used with the development of a consistent technology.

Scorials : Places of accumulation of disposable waste from a certain metallurgical industrial process; these residues can be reused by the application of other industrial processes to extract their components.

Exploration : Set of operations, works and mining tasks that aim to determine the structure of the deposit, the morphology, dimensions and conditions of the presence of the mineral body, the tectonics of the area containing it, the content and the quality of the mineral or minerals existing therein, as well as the calculation of the reserves, including the economic evaluation of the deposit and other studies to help its best exploitation.

Exploitation : A set of operations, works, works, and mining works for the preparation and development of the field and for the extraction and transportation of minerals.

Marine Fund : Bed of the sea.

Environmental Impact : Degrading consequences for the environment which generates the action of man or other element outside the environment.

Working : Art of exploiting the mines, doing the necessary tasks or excavations, fortifying them, disposing of the transit through them and, extracting the mendables.

Law of the Mineral : Concentration of metal contained in a mena.

Mena : Useful portion of a metaliferous mineral.

Microlocalisation : Selection in detail of the area of the land covered by the concession.

Mine : Work resulting from the set of excavations and surface and underground facilities that are carried out for the research and exploitation of a mineral deposit.

Mining : Art of working together the mines and mining operations.

Mineral : Inorganic substance found in the soil or in the subsoil, and mainly that whose exploitation offers economic interest.

Accompanying Mineral : It is that which is not the main object of the mining action is present in a field, and it may have or not a certain economic interest.

Principal Mineral : It is the one that constitutes the basic object of the mining activity within a field.

Radioactive ore : Mineral containing, among others, elements of the families of uranium and thorium, which by its concentration can generally be taken advantage of the industry.

Mining Operations : They are the activities that are carried out in the mine with the help of instruments and equipment suitable for the research and exploitation of the mineral.

Processing : Treatment of exploited minerals to raise their quality or useful content, to separate them, to purify them, to adapt them for consumption or to package them, with a view to their use or marketing.

The Technological Process of the Mineral Resource : Phases through which the extracted minerals are traversed for suitable use.

Prospecting : A set of jobs with the use of techniques and methods that aim to search for clues and mineral concentrations that could constitute a field.

Recognition : Performing preliminary work in certain areas, defining areas of interest for prospecting.

Mining Registration : Control system in which data relating to the rights granted to natural and legal persons for mining activities are included among others.

Reserve of the Mineral : Amount of ore with a certain degree of geological assessment and outstanding mineral exploitation.

Rock of Box or of Destape : A rocky and sterile material that forms part of the deposit and which hinders the extraction of the mineral, so it sometimes has to be removed.

Servitude : It is a tax levied on one property for the benefit of another, belonging to a different owner. The property to which the servitude is constituted is called the dominant predium; the one who suffers it, it pregave servant.

Subsoil : Portion composed of rocks and minerals that is immediately below the ground, on which the laws establish the public domain, which can be granted through concessions for the mining activity.

Soil : Upper layer of the terrestrial surface in which the plants are rooted, and which constitutes a particular ecological environment.

Ex-works : Free and available land to carry out any activity, including mining.

Reduced Drilling Witness : Decreased portion of a sample of rock or mineral extracted by means of drilling and which is preserved for research purposes for as long as it is determined.

Treatment of Residuals : Process of partial or total decontamination of the remaining or waste of the technological process to which the mineral is subjected.

Field : Any natural accumulation of mineral substances in the soil or subsoil, which may be used and exploited as a source of raw material and as a source of energy, and concentrations of precious and semi-precious stones and any other mineral substance whose exploitation is of economic importance.

Zone of Interest : Place where anomalies, samples or geological alterations have been located that allow the existence of minerals to be presumed.

Mineralised Zone : It is that extension of the soil or subsoil in which concentrations of mineral of economic exploitation are found.

CHAPTER II

OF THE SYSTEM OF OWNERSHIP OF MINERAL RESOURCES

ARTICLE 4.-The State has the inalienable and imprescriptible domain of the subsoil, the mines and all the mineral resources, wherever they are located, within the constitutional regulations.

CHAPTER III

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MINING POLICY

ARTICLE 5.-The Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee through the Ministry of Basic Industry, controls the development, implementation and application of the mining policy, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 18 of this Law.

Article 6.-In order to comply with the provisions of the previous Article, the Ministry of Basic Industry has the following powers:

  1. (a) advise the National Assembly of People's Power and the State Council in the elaboration of the Mining Policy;
  2. (b) propose to the Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee the declarations of reserved mining areas;
  3. (e) controlling mining policy, through development plans and programmes and short-, medium-and long-term mining development;
  4. (d) to promote geological research in the country;
  5. (e) to regulate and control mining activities, without prejudice to the powers conferred on other bodies of the Central State Administration by the legislation; and
  6. (f) the others granted in the legislation in force.

CHAPTER IV

OF THE MINERA ACTIVITY

SECTION FIRST

GENERAL

ARTICLE 7.-Mining activity means the set of operations and actions referred to in Article 12 of this Law.

ARTICLE 8.-Mining activity is compatible with the interests of the National Defense.

Article 9.-The execution of the mining activity takes into account the competence that the legislation gives to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment in environmental matters.

Article 10. The mining activity is declared to be of public interest and social interest, which is preferably on any other use or use of the land, provided that economic or social reasons make it advisable.

Article 11. To carry out the mining activity, the concessionaires may be authorized by the Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee to occupy or use state-owned property. In the case of private property, the special scheme of the mining services and any other alternative solution that does not involve the displacement or the affectation of possession enjoyed by a private property is applied where possible. third. If such alternatives are not successful, the compulsory expropriation must be applied which, if necessary, is promoted in court by the Ministry of Basic Industry. This procedure, which includes due allowance, is valid for the use of the soil and other essential goods for the execution of the mining activity.

Article 12. For the purposes of applying this Law, the mining activity is divided into the following phases:

  1. a) Recognition.
  2. (b) Geological Survey: which is divided into the Prospection and Exploration sub-phases.
  3. (c) Exploitation.
  4. (d) Processing.
  5. (e) Marketing.

SECTION 2

OF THE CLASSIFICATION OF MINERALS

ARTICLE 13. The mineral resources are classified within the following groups for the purposes of this Law:

Group I. Non-metallic minerals, mainly used as building materials or raw materials for industry and other branches of the economy. This group includes precious and semi-precious stones.

Group II. Metal ores. This group includes precious metals, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, as well as metal and non-metallic accompanying minerals

Group III. Energy-bearing minerals.

Group IV. Mineral-medicinal waters and sludge. It includes mineral-industrial waters, mineral-medicinal waters, natural minerals, thermal springs and mineral-medicinal sludge.

Group V. Other mineral accumulations. This group includes:

  1. (a) accumulations consisting of residues of mining activities which are useful for the use of some of their components such as glues, tailings and scorials; and:
  2. (b) all mineral accumulations and other geological resources which are not specified in the above groups and which may be exploited.

CHAPTER V

OF THE MINING AUTHORITY

SECTION FIRST

FUNCTIONS OF THE MINING AUTHORITY

ARTICLE 14.-The National Office of Mineral Resources is created, hereinafter the Mining Authority, as an institution with legal personality, attached to the Ministry of Basic Industry, which is the entity in charge of:

  1. (a) audit and control the mining and rational use of mineral resources in accordance with the provisions of this Law and other provisions in force, advising the Ministry of the Basic Industry on this matter, and the other bodies of the Central government of the State without prejudice to their respective powers.
  2. (b) approve, register and control mineral reserves by certifying the degree of preparation of the fields for industrial assimilation;
  3. (c) to issue technical opinions on the granting, cancellation and termination of mining concessions; and
  4. (d) approve, in accordance with this Law, mining projects;
  5. (c) to keep the Mining Register and keep up to date the annotations on mining concessions, reserved mining areas, deposits, mineral manifestations, areas in research and mines in exploitation or abandoned;
  6. (f) to be a depositary of the nation's geological and mining information;
  7. (g) to exercise the State inspection on natural and legal persons carrying out the mining activity, in order to verify compliance with the agreements and obligations to which those entities have been committed, as well as the legal provisions in force for the activity to be inspected;
  8. (h) monitor the implementation of environmental preservation plans and measures to mitigate the environmental impact;
  9. i) keep the country's mining statistics up to date; and
  10. (j) to participate in the closure of mines and to control the measures of the closure programme which is implemented.

SECTION 2

OF THE MINING REGISTER

Article 15.-They are registered in the Mining Registry, in addition to the annotations provided for in Article 14 (e) of this Law, the following:

  1. (a) the title to which the concession is granted;
  2. (b) amendments, extensions, nullity, cancellation and termination of concessions;
  3. (c) transfer of the concession;
  4. (d) judicial declarations affecting the grant or enjoyment of the concession; and
  5. (e) mining easements.

Article 16.-The procedure for the registration in the Mining Registry is the one established in the Regulation of this Law, prior to the payment of the charges that in the same and in the general tax legislation are established.

CHAPTER VI

OF THE MINING CONCESSIONS

SECTION FIRST

GENERAL

Article 17.-For the purposes of this Law, it is understood by Concession Minera, hereinafter referred to as generically Concession, the legal relationship born of a unilateral governmental act for which a natural person is temporarily granted the right to carry out mining activities, under the conditions and with all the rights and obligations that this Law and its Rules of Procedure determine. All the mineral resources listed in Article 13 of this Law are concessional, without prejudice to the declaration of exclusive reserves of certain minerals by the State.

ARTICLE 18.-The Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee grants, or denies, the mining concessions and also has its cancellation and extinction.

ARTICLE 19.-Concessions comprise spaces in surface and depth. The limits on the surface are measured by hectares and are given by the system of national coordinates of the vertices of the polygon or of the geometric figure that results and of the straight line that one the vertices. The limits in depth coincide with those indicated on the surface. However the depth is given by the location of the reserves or the scope of the mining technique.

SECTION 2

OF THE DEALERS

Article 20.-The natural or legal persons, duly authorized for the exercise of one or more phases of the mining activity for the corresponding title, are dealers for the purposes of this Law.

ARTICLE 21. All the dealers are subject to the laws and other provisions in force in the Republic of Cuba.

ARTICLE 22.-The concessions are of geological, exploitation or processing. Recognition work does not require the granting of concessions, being the subject of permits by the Ministry of Basic Industry.

The recognition permits confer on the holder the power to carry out preliminary work to determine areas of interest for prospecting, in a non-exclusive manner, during the period of its validity, in relation to the classes of minerals. specified in the permit and within the areas described therein.

Geological research grants entitle the concessionaire to carry out the work relating to the exploration and exploration sub-phases, as defined in Article 3 of this legal body.

The operating concessions entitle the concessionaire to carry out the work defined in Article 3 of this Law, to the appropriation of the authorized minerals and, if expressly included in the concession, to its processing and marketing.

The processing concessions entitle the concessionaire to perform the treatments defined in Article 3 of this Law.

ARTICLE 23.-The duration of the geological research concessions is three (3) years, extendable for two (2) years more; counted from the date of the granting of the extension.

Article 24. The exploitation and processing concessions have a maximum term of twenty-five (25) years, counted from the date of their granting. This term may be extended for successive periods, up to twenty-five (25) years when the concessionaire demonstrates the possibility of continuing to exploit the mineral resources provided for in the concession, as well as the adequacy of the techniques exploitation and processing to modern technologies.

ARTICLE 25.-With the extinction of the concessions, as referred to in Article 60a) of this Law, the rights of the concessionaire in respect of the parcels granted, and they become the property of the State the permanent works that have been built, without any compensation. In such cases, the State entities also have the right of first option to purchase the dismountable facilities in the event that the holder of the Concession is interested in selling.

The State may grant new concessions on the area concerned, taking precedence in that case, the previous concessionaire.

SECTION III

THE PROCESSING OF REQUESTS FOR CONCESSIONS

ARTICLE 26. Applications for concessions are submitted by the person concerned to the Ministry of Basic Industry, through the Mining Authority, and are taxed on the tax on documents.

The Mining Authority verifies compliance with all the requirements established, forming a file to which it attaches an opinion with its considerations, including the existing information on geological investigations already carried out or in the process of implementation and the proposals for decisions to be taken on the requested areas, which refers to the Minister of the Basic Industry.

Article 27.-Any application to be the holder of a mining concession must contain the following general requirements:

  1. (a) the data relating to the applicant as well as its technical and financial capacity;
  2. (b) identification of the mineral resource;
  3. (c) the area of the concession requested in hectares and their location on the land, in the national coordinate system;
  4. (d) the term for which it is requested;
  5. (e) the objectives pursued, together with a summary of the work to be carried out and the deadlines for implementation;
  6. (f) in the case of applications for concessions for exploitation, processing and small mining production; approval by the Institute of Physical Planning of the microlocalisation of investment and certification of the body competent for the use and tenure of the land; and
  7. (g) how many other data and details are required in accordance with the provisions of the Rules of Procedure of this Law.

Applications for permission for recognition shall comply with the requirements laid down in points (a) to (e) of this Article.

ARTICLE 28.-The application to be the holder of an operating concession must contain, in addition to the requirements laid down in Article 27, the following:

  1. (a) a summary of the main characteristics of the deposit, the use to be made of the mineral resource, the reserves approved by the Mining Authority, the works that are pending to be carried out from the previous stage, as well as the main ones technical and economic indicators of the investment in question; and
  2. (b) proof of full compliance with the obligations contained in or derived from the concession for geological investigation, if the applicant has previously been granted.

ARTICLE 29.-The application to be the holder of a processing concession must contain, in addition to the requirements laid down in Article 27, the following:

  1. (a) provenance and characteristics of the ore to be processed; and
  2. (b) a detailed report of the main characteristics of the plant to be used in the technological process to which the mineral resource is to be submitted.

In cases where the application covers the processing stage in conjunction with the holding stage, compliance with the requirements laid down in points (a) and (b) of Articles 23 and 29 is necessary, without prejudice to the general rules contained in the application. Article 27.

ARTICLE 30.-The application to be the holder of a concession in a small mining production must contain, in addition to the requirements laid down in Article 27, the following:

  1. (a) a report on the mining activities to be carried out, broken down by work, programme of execution and final destination of the mineral; and
  2. (b) proof of full compliance with the obligations contained in or derived from the concession for geological investigation, if the applicant has previously been granted.

ARTICLE 31.-The dealers pay the State the price established by the State-owned information that exists on geological investigations already carried out or in the process of execution.

The form of compensation for the costs incurred by these works is determined in the Regulation of this Law.

ARTICLE 32.-The requirements referred to in the preceding Articles are fulfilled, the Minister of the Basic Industry issues an opinion to the Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee on the desirability of granting or denying the grant to the applicant, with As many other pronouncements come, the criteria of the local organs of the People's Power, and orders in case of granting its registration in the Mining Registry. For the grant, the following rules are observed:

  1. The holder of a geological survey has the right to obtain within the area under investigation the concession of exploitation and processing of the minerals explored, as long as all the requirements have been met and obligations inherent in previous concessions;
  2. If the holder does not make use of his previously expressed right, in the term established by the Regulation of this Law, the areas in question are considered to be free and concessional.
  3. If more than one application for the same free field is submitted, the applicant shall be granted the right to present the proposal most appropriate to the interests of the State.

ARTICLE 33.-All applications submitted in accordance with this Law may be withdrawn at any time before the requested concession is granted. However, in the event that the application is withdrawn, the charges paid are in favour of the State.

ARTICLE 34.-The Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee dictates the provision granting a concession, which contains the grounds for the decision, the type of concession referred to, the identification of the applicant, the precise limits for the area of land to which it is contracted, the minerals which are covered by the term for which the right is granted, the determination, form and time of payment of the royalty, the amount of the financial funds to restore the environment and any other considerations and conditions resulting from the analysis of the file, the policy Established mining and existing legislation. Concessions are non-transferable without the prior and express consent of the grantor.

ARTICLE 35-Applications for extension of the areas granted for the execution of mining activities and requests for extension of the term of the concessions are formulated and processed by the same procedure provided for the initial application of each concession, with the exception of the data in the file.

SECTION 4

OF THE TENDERS

Article 36. The State, through the legal persons it designates, may call for tenders for the geological investigation, exploitation, processing and marketing of mineral resources, in order to carry out a mining activity in the national territory, in order to choose the most advantageous proposal, without affecting acquired rights or processing.

CHAPTER VII

OF THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE CONCESSIONAIRES

SECTION FIRST

GENERAL

ARTICLE 37.-The dealers perform the mining activity without interruption. If by force majeure duly proven, or by economic conditions of the market, no work was initiated within the time limits referred to in Articles 42 (a), 43 (a), 44 (a) and 48 (a); or suspended for a period of time. (b) in accordance with Article 58 (b) of this Law, the Minister of the Basic Industry may, at the request of the person concerned, extend such time limits for a period of time equal to the duration of the case.

ARTICLE 38.-The dealers may only execute the authorized mining activities on the mineral resources entered in the concession granted. If, in the course of its execution, the possibility of exploiting or preparing another unauthorised mineral resource is detected or given, the concessionaire is obliged to inform it in the term established by the Regulation of this Law through the Mining Authority, to the Minister of the Basic Industry, who raises it, with the appropriate recommendations, to the Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee, so that one can determine whether:

  1. (a) authorizes the concessionaire to extend its activities to the new resource if it is of interest to it, for which it must comply with the requirements and procedures provided for in this Law or its Regulation;
  2. (b) it stops the authorized activities or part of them if the use of the new resource is in danger and is of greater interest to the country, assuming in that case the State the compensation to the concessionaire for the expenses in which has been incurred; or
  3. (e) provides any other measure to preserve mineral resources and to ensure the interests of the country.

ARTICLE 39. With respect to the mineral resources of Group IV, as set out in Article 13, it is generally prohibited within the perimeter of protection:

  1. (a) direct or indirect discharges which pollute them;
  2. (b) accumulate solid waste, debris or substances, whatever their nature and the place in which they are deposited, which constitute or may constitute a danger of contamination or degradation of these resources;
  3. (e) carry out other actions on the surrounding environment which may contribute to its degradation.

ARTICLE 40.-The roads built for the service of the mining industry are for public use, provided they do not offer danger to human life or to the mining facilities, which is qualified by the Mining Authority.

SECTION 2

OF THE GENERAL OBLIGATIONS

ARTICLE 41.-All 1 of the dealers are obliged to:

  1. (a) to carry out the work based on a project based on its objectives and results;
  2. (b) inform the Mining Authority of the outcome of their work, as laid down in the Rules of Procedure of this Law;
  3. (c) adequately preserve the environment and the ecological conditions of the area covered by the concession, preparing environmental impact studies and plans to prevent, mitigate, control, rehabilitate and compensate for such an impact activities; both in that area and in the areas and ecosystems linked to those that may be affected;
  4. (d) comply with the minimum work programmes approved in the provision for which the concession is granted;
  5. (e) conduct geological research, exploitation and processing of minerals with techniques and methods to ensure the evaluation and use of minerals, principals and companions;
  6. (f) perform the mining activities exclusively for the purposes that were authorized;
  7. (g) preserving the health and life of workers by applying the safety and hygiene rules of the work laid down in the provisions in force;
  8. (h) establish, in the national territory, records that adequately reflect the development of their operations;
  9. (i) permit the conduct of the state inspection of the mining operations at their premises, providing the inspectors with the information they request;
  10. (j) hiring Cuban personnel to perform the mining activity and plan training and training programs for the workers, as well as receiving students to carry out teaching practices;
  11. (k) store and retain reduced drilling witnesses, primary materials to be determined, and other materials or information of interest to the mining activity for the term to be laid down in the Regulation of the This Law;
  12. (i) to pay the fee or the area right, as the case may be, and other taxes and charges in force;
  13. (m) store in the stages of operation and processing, the low-law minerals or accompanying minerals, the tails, tailings and other minerals that are extracted and can be used;
  14. (n) carry out technical-production research and introduce technological innovations related to the purpose of its concession, in order to improve economic efficiency and the exploitation of mineral resources;
  15. (o) demarcate and maintain the limits of the area authorized to carry out the mining activity, as well as ensuring that no other tasks are carried out in that area to which they are duly authorized;
  16. (p) control, in the stages of exploitation and processing and in small mining, the effectiveness of the processing of waste treatment; and
  17. (g) to protect the areas and facilities of the access of persons outside the mining work, and to provide for measures for the safety of works and buildings.

SECTION III

FROM GEOLOGICAL RESEARCH

ARTICLE 42.-In addition to the general obligations contained in the previous article, the geological survey dealers are obliged to:

  1. (a) start their operations within the maximum period of three (3) months from the date of granting of the concession;
  2. (b) to investigate the fields in a rational and economic manner, taking into account the existing background on the areas to be investigated;
  3. (c) determine the stocks of the principal minerals and their companions in quantity and quality;
  4. (d) submit to the Mining Authority the final report as a result of the geological survey carried out, with all the documentation setting out the methodological and technical standards in this respect, including the statement of the calculated reserves; and
  5. (e) return areas that are not of interest to continue carrying out the exploration and exploration work, and at the end of the exploration sub-phase, return definitively the areas that are not to be exploited.

SECTION 4

OF THE HOLDING AND PROCESSING

ARTICLE 43.-In addition to the general obligations laid down in Article 41, the operating concessionaires have the following obligations:

  1. (a) start the holding within a maximum period of two (2) years from the date of the title;
  2. (b) draw up and submit to the approval of the mining authority the draft operating according to the procedure laid down in the Regulation of this Law;
  3. (c) to exploit the reserves of the deposits with minimum losses and dilutions;
  4. (d) planning and carrying out the geological investigations necessary to increase the knowledge of the field and to guide the work of exploitation;
  5. (e) inform the Mining Authority of the movement of mineral reserves and the annual mining plan;
  6. (f) to take advantage of or to store the rock of the box or the destape correctly, as the case may be; and
  7. (g) to plan the necessary work for the restoration or conditioning of the exploited areas, in terms to be established by the local authority of the People's Power and the competent authority, as the case may be, by creating the financial funds necessary for these purposes.

Article 44. In addition to the general obligations laid down in Article 41, the processing dealers have the following obligations:

  1. (a) start processing within a maximum period of three (3) years from the date of the title;
  2. (b) draw up and submit to the approval of the Mining Authority, in accordance with the procedure laid down in this Law, the draft for the processing of mineral resources;
  3. (c) inform the Mining Authority of the annual processing plan:
  4. (d) conducting technical-productive research to improve the economic efficiency of the industrial process; and
  5. (e) provide facilities for the processing of minerals from small mining production.

Article 45. In the exploitation and processing of mineral resources for direct medicinal, application or human consumption purposes, the holders of the corresponding concessions guarantee, in addition to the provisions of the previous articles, that next:

  1. (a) optimum hygienic and sanitary conditions in the execution of the authorised activities;
  2. (b) the preservation of the original physical and chemical properties which have established the mineral resource until its use by the consumer;
  3. (e) identification of the product and specification of the time retained by those properties; and
  4. (d) compliance with all other conditions necessary to avoid consumer affections for their application or consumption.

CHAPTER VIII

OF SMALL MINING PRODUCTIONS

ARTICLE 46.-Small mining production means any one that is carried out on concentrations of mineral resources considered small deposits, according to the classification provided for in the Regulation of this Law, or that by the the economic importance of their exploitation can be considered as such.

Article 47. For the granting of concessions for exploitation and processing in small mining production, the article of this Law applies as soon as the provisions of this Chapter are not opposed.

The Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee delegates to the Ministry of Basic Industry the granting or refusal of mining concessions for small deposits of certain minerals and also has its cancellation or extinction.

ARTICLE 48. In addition to the general obligations contained in Article 41, the holders of concessions for small mining production have the obligation to:

  1. (a) start the holding within a maximum period of two (2) years from the date of the title;
  2. (b) keep the topographical drawings of the area granted and the works that it executes up to date; and
  3. (c) possess the minimum geological knowledge required for the exploitation of the mineral resource.

CHAPTER IX

OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE CONCESSIONAIRES

SECTION FIRST

OF THE GENERAL POWERS

ARTICLE 49.-Any concessionaire, without prejudice to compliance with the regulations and requirements laid down for each case, may:

  1. (a) have access to the mining area through State or private land, and the special system of mining facilities and the most appropriate and least harmful route for the owner or holder, as well as complying with the provisions established with respect, including the appropriate compensation;
  2. (b) transfer or transfer their rights to the concession, subject to the express consent of the grantor;
  3. (c) make the necessary constructions for the rational development of the mining activity: and
  4. (d) use in their mining operations the waters which arise or appear during those operations or which come from the drain thereof.

SECTION 2

OF THE SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR MINING EASEMENTS

Article 50.-The holder of a mining concession may request the establishment of easements in neighboring areas of third parties, which are necessary for the rational use of the right that is established.

ARTICLE 51.-The easements may be voluntary and legal.

ARTICLE 52. The voluntary easements are granted by the owner of the property that supports the easement, to the holder of the concession, to the benefit of it, ears the criteria of the authorities responsible for the use of the land by means of public deed which is entered in the Register by the Mining Authority.

ARTICLE 53-Legal easements are granted by the Ministry of Basic Industry, through the Mining Authority, heard from the authorities responsible for the use of the buildings and understands the necessary tasks for access, ventilation, drainage and the possibility of processing of minerals

ARTICLE 54. In all cases of easements, compensation shall be paid to the owner of the property for the damages caused to it.

ARTICLE 55.-The easements are extinguished:

  1. (a) for the nullity, cancellation or termination of the concession; and
  2. (b) to meet in the same person the property of the parent servant with the dominant.

CHAPTER X

OF THE NULLITY, NULLABILITY AND EXTINCTION OF CONCESSIONS

ARTICLE 56.-Any concession that is granted without fulfilling the requirements laid down in this Law is void.

ARTICLE 57.-State inspectors of the Mining Authority may impose on the non-reoffending infringer the measures listed below, conditioning the nulliability of the concession to its compliance:

  1. (a) give a maximum period of time to eradicate the violation committed without suspending the work; or
  2. b) paralyze the work until the violation is eradicated, in which case, the economic affectation that produces the stoppage is resolved at the expense of the one who committed the violation.

ARTICLE 58.-Any concession granted is nullable by the reoffending in the non-compliance of:

  1. (a) the time limits provided for in this Law to commence geological investigation, exploitation or processing;
  2. (b) the cessation or suspension of geological research work for more than six months, or of exploitation or processing for more than two (2) years, in both cases without the proper authorization or not to resume them within the time limit set;
  3. (e) the measures taken by the State inspectors;
  4. (d) the conditions imposed at the time of granting the concession;
  5. (e) the holding of an unauthorised mineral resource;
  6. (f) failure to comply with the measures laid down for the safety of work and human life:
  7. (g) the submission of the reports or the updating of the records reflecting the development of their operations, to which they are required in accordance with the Regulation of this Law and the provisions in force;
  8. (h) the work to which they are required according to their respective titles;
  9. (i) the programme of implementation of measures which preserve the environment; and
  10. (j) other causes contained in the provision granting the concession.

Article 59. The non-payment of the duties or charges provided for in this Law gives rise to the imposition of the measures provided for in the general tax legislation, with the aim of making the payment effective. Exhausted all recovery procedures, the concession can be cancelled.

ARTICLE 60.-These are causes of extinction of concessions:

  1. (a) the maturity of the term or the extension granted;
  2. (b) the termination of the legal personality of the concessionaire;
  3. (c) the voluntary resignation of the holder;
  4. (d) the final and total closure of the mine.

CHAPTER XI

OF THE CLOSURE OF MINES

Article 61. The closure of a mine may be temporary or permanent, as planned or possible to resume the operation or not; and in whole or in part, as envisaged in the cessation of activities throughout the mine or part of it.

In all cases, the temporary closure of a mine requires the authorization of the Minister of the Basic Industry by means of a well-founded resolution.

ARTICLE 62. The temporary closure of a mine may take place due to technical, economic, mineral-geological, hydrogeological, fire, environmental damage or other reasons that do not permit the exploitation of the mine to continue.

The definitive closure can take place either by the total extraction or by cancellation of the mineral reserves, in cases where there is no prospect for their increase or have changed the technical-economic, mining safety or environmental conditions.

Article 63. To approve the closure of a mine, both temporary and final, the concessionaire presents to the Minister of the Basic Industry, through the Mining Authority, a technical and economic study with the relevant arguments and the work program with the measures you are running.

Article 64. In the event that the closure occurs in the interest of the State, the Cuban State indemnifies the concessionaire accordingly.

ARTICLE 65.-Authorised the total or partial closure on a temporary basis, the concessionaire guarantees throughout the period of closure and until the extinction of the concession:

  1. (a) the topographical, geological, and mining update of the exploited field and its presentation to the Mining Authority for review and conservation;
  2. (b) the work on the conservation of the mine in such a way as to restart the mining work;
  3. (c) the safety measures of the mine and its facilities, equipment and possible accidents of persons, fires and breakdowns;
  4. (d) the conservation and destination of existing facilities, equipment and materials; and
  5. (e) measures to restore and rehabilitate the environment.

The state inspectors of the Mining Authority control the performance of the work described in this article and the following.

Article 66.-For the closure of a mine wholly or partially, definitively, the concessionaire presents to the Ministry of the Basic Industry, through the Mining Authority, the technical-economic guidelines and the program of closure that contains:

  1. (a) the updated state of the mineral reserves;
  2. (b) in underground mines, the manner in which the labors are liquidated in order to avoid possible future affectation to the surface by collapse or settlement;
  3. (c) the sealing of all access work;
  4. (d) the use or destination of surface, equipment and material installations;
  5. (e) the recovery of equipment and materials from underground mines;
  6. (f) the state in which the deposits of queues, tailings and scurials remain, and the calculation of the minerals contained or the total volume of the deposit, as the case may be;
  7. (g) the programme for the restoration of the area concerned and a report on the effects of the environment; and
  8. (h) the use which could be made of the underground mining facilities or the quarries.

ARTICLE 67.-In all the marriage for the definitive closure of a mine, the authorization of the Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee is required.

CHAPTER XII

OF THE SAFETY AND HYGIENE OF THE WORK

ARTICLE 68.-Any concessionaire is obliged to comply with the existing provisions on safety and hygiene of the work.

ARTICLE 69.-The dealers guarantee the safety and hygiene of the work through the elaboration and execution of plans of measures whose content is detailed in the Regulation of this Law.

CHAPTER XIII

FROM THE DECLARATION OF RESERVED MINING AREAS

ARTICLE 70.-The Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee is the body responsible for declaring the Mining Areas Reserved and, consequently, the only one in charge of authorizing other activities outside the geological or mining areas.

Article 71.-It is understood by area of Minera Reserved that zone that because of its obvious perspective of the existence of concentrations of minerals, it is convenient to preserve, limiting the realization of activities beyond the geological or mining that can damage the execution of the mining purpose for which this area was preserved.

ARTICLE 72.-The Ministry of the Basic Industry carries out the necessary formalities before the Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee for the declaration of the Reserved Mining Areas, at the request of the Ministry itself or the entities that are related to the development of the country's mining activity.

ARTICLE 73.-For the declaration of the Mining Areas Reserved are taken into account:

  1. (a) the economic or strategic importance given by the potential value of the reserves or their effect on the country's industrial production;
  2. (b) the confluence of interests in the chosen area;
  3. c) the human settlements in the chosen area;
  4. (d) and the existence of protected areas in any of its categories; and
  5. (e) in the case of the mineral resources of Group IV, as laid down in Article 13, which may be contaminated or degraded by external, physical, biological or chemical agents, is included within the area, the protection perimeter and the influences that have hydraulic connection to the mineral resource.

The words in points (b) and (c) of this Article are coordinated with the appropriate physical planning dependency.

Article 74. Applications for concessions within the Reserved Mining Areas declared by the Council of Ministers shall be submitted to the Ministry of the Basic Industry, which deals with them in accordance with the procedures laid down in this Law and the special requirements set by the Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee in each declaration.

TYPE OF ORE

  1. (a) The related minerals in groups I, II and III, with the exception of non-metallic minerals used for construction and those for the production of lime, cement and ceramics.
  2. (b) Group IV minerals.
  3. (c) Minerals included in Group V, as well as non-metallic minerals used for construction and those dedicated to the production of lime, cement and ceramics.

CHAPTER XIV

OF THE TAX SYSTEM

Article 75.-The dealers pay the State, without prejudice to the general tax legislation and any other general payments established, the fees for the execution of a mining activity and royalties for the extraction of non-renewable mineral resources as set out in this Law.

ARTICLE 76.-The State receives from the concessionaires, by way of charge, the annual quantity of:

  1. (a) two pesos per hectare during the prospecting sub-phase;
  2. (b) five pesos per hectare during the exploration sub-phase; and
  3. (c) 10 pesos per hectare during the holding stage.

ARTICLE 77.-The amounts that are related in the previous article are entered into the State Budget and the payments are made by advance annuities, according to the procedures and forms of collection established by the Ministry of Finance and Prices.

Article 78. The processing dealers pay the State the price of the surface right established by the Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee when granting the concession, for the area to be used for the construction of the processing facilities. The government also lays down the conditions for such a surface right.

ARTICLE 79.-When the conditions of the mining operation and the production of the production so advise, the Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee may establish the Calculation for the payment of royalties on:

  1. (a) the value of the sale of the production;
  2. (b) the quarterly average price recorded on the world markets for the mineral products obtained; or
  3. (c) the value expressly agreed upon.

ARTICLE 80.-The State receives the royalty for the exploitation of the mineral resources in the national territory for each concessionaire, in the percentages to be established in the provision for which the concession is granted, in correspondence with the following scale:

APPLICABLE REGALIA

From 3 to 5%

From 1 to 3%

Up to 1%

ARTICLE 81.-They have the character of taxable persons of the royalties that are established, all the holders of concessions of exploitation of a mineral resource.

ARTICLE 82. The payment of these royalties is made in kind or in cash, at the option of the State.

ARTICLE 83.-The calculation of the royalties is made on the basis of the finished production. The payment is made cash in the currency in which the obligor performs its operations.

CHAPTER XV

OF THE STIMULATION OF THE MINING ACTIVITY

ARTICLE 84.-The Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee may authorize operating dealers to allocate a portion of the utility, before applying the income tax, to write down the expenses incurred during the prospecting and exploration, which are accepted as expenses subject to reimbursement.

Article 85.-Operating dealers may apply the accelerated depreciation of the investment costs incurred for the commencement of the extraction of the mineral, its processing, and the marketing of the products derived from them, including means and equipment for transport and cargo, under the conditions laid down by the Ministry of Finance and Prices.

Article 86.-Where exceptional conditions exist which endanger the continuity of the mining operations related to the execution of the mining activity subject to the concession, the concessionaire may request in a substantiated manner to the Ministry of Finance and Prices through the Ministry of Basic Industry, the total or partial deferral of the payment of the royalty established in the provision for which the concession was granted.

The Minister of Finance and Prices dictates established resolution by accessing or denying the requested dispute. In the first instance, it does so for a period that satisfies the interests of the State Budget and those of the concessionaire.

CHAPTER XVI

OF THE CONTRAVENTIONS AND AUTHORITIES ACCUSED OF IMPOSING MEASURES AND RESOLVING RESOURCES

SECTION FIRST

CONTRAVENTIONS

ARTICLE -87.-To dealers who contravene the provisions of this Law, which do not include causals of nullability or extinction, as provided for in Articles 57, 58 and 59, a personal or institutional fine is imposed on them, as appropriate, in the cases referred to in the Regulation, in which the amounts of the fines and the ancillary measures to be applied are fixed.

SECTION 2

AUTHORITIES EMPOWERED TO IMPOSE MEASURES AND TO RESOLVE REMEDIES

Article 88.-The authorities empowered to check the commission of the infringements and to impose the fines and corresponding measures are, in their respective powers, the State Inspectors of the Mining Authority, those of the Local government of the People's Power and the staff appointed by other competent bodies of the Central State Administration.

ARTICLE 89.-The authority empowered to know and to resolve appeals against the administrative act by which fines or measures have been imposed are, in their respective powers, the Ministers and the Presidents of the local organs of the People's Power concerned.

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

FIRST: Natural and legal persons who are currently engaged in mining activities are required to submit their applications for concessions in accordance with this Law, within the maximum term of one (1) year from their enactment.

SECOND : Decurated the term provided for in the previous Disposition, the rights to continue the execution of the mining activities expire.

SPECIAL PROVISIONS

FIRST: No change to this Law may affect the terms and conditions entered in the concession, within twenty-five years after its granting.

SECOND: In the case of gold, the Ministry of Basic Industry has previously coordinated with the National Bank of Cuba the conditions that will be established for each of the concessions related to this metal.

THIRD: The annulment of a concession or the closure of a mine by any of the causes that in this Law are related, as well as the abandonment of the mining activity, do not exempt the concessionaires from the compensations that correspond to the Cuban State the damage caused to it as a result of such acts, when they occur under the responsibility of the concessionaire.

FOURTH: The Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee is empowered to establish, exceptionally and for reasons of interest to the Nation, in coordination with the organs and agencies that proceed, to establish different terms and amounts than those provided for in the This Law, for the concessions granted.

FINAL PROVISIONS

FIRST : The Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee is responsible for issuing the Rules of Procedure of this Law.

SECOND: The Ministry of Basic Industry is empowered to dictate how many more provisions are required for the best execution of this Act.

THIRD: It is the responsibility of the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, as a body responsible for directing and controlling policy to ensure the protection of the environment and the rational use of natural resources, evaluate and approve, where appropriate, the environmental impact activities required for the implementation of the mining concessions, as well as establish, monitor and demand compliance with the environmental provisions established for this activity; which includes the implementation of state environmental inspections and the implementation of the penalties provided for in the legislation in force.

FOURTH: The Law of Mines of 6 July 1859; the Decree Law of General Bases for the New Law of Mines of 29 December 1868; Decree 1076, Organic Regulation for the Cuban Mining, is repealed and there is no legal value whatsoever. of 28 September 1914; the Law of 12 January 1909 promulgated by Decree 78 of the same date; Decree 55 of 18 January 1915; Decree 716 of 31 January 1915, Decree 447 of 5 April 1916; Decree 622 of 15 April 1918; Decree 869 of 21 May 1918; Decree 1662 of 22 October 1920; Decree 355 of 18 March 1921; Decree 147, of 5 February 1924; Decree 1370 of 15 August 1928; Decree 768 of 7 June 1930; Decree 717 of 26 May 1931; Decree 470 of 12 April 1932; Decree 471 of 12 April 1932; Decree 676 of 19 May 1932; Decree 1120 of 11 August 1932; Decree 1073 of 16 April 1941; Decree 2423 of 30 August 1943; Law 617 of 27 October 1959; Law 1196 of 15 July 1966; and all other laws and regulations object to the provisions of this Law.

This Law will begin to apply from its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic.

DADA In the session hall of the National Assembly of People's Power, Palace of the Conventions, City of Havana, at the twenty-one day of the month of December of a thousand nine hundred and ninety-four.

RICARDO ALARCON DE QUESADA