Environment reforms mining plants instructional and repeals 2015 agreement

The Ministry of Environment and Energy issued Ministerial Agreement MAE-MAE-2026-0107-AM, which reforms the guidelines regulating the granting of authorizations for the installation and operation of processing, smelting, refining plants, and the construction of tailings dams nationwide. The regulation was published in the Official Registry, Second Supplement No. 403, on Thursday, November 5, 2026 (p. 2), and was signed on October 20, 2026, by Minister Juan Carlos Damían Blum Baquero. This instrument repeals Ministerial Agreement No. 018, published in the Official Registry No. 554 on July 29, 2015.

The agreement is based on Articles 45 and 46 of the Mining Law, which regulate the processing, smelting, and refining phases, and Article 26, which requires administrative acts prior to the start of activities. According to the recitals, the update seeks to align the provisions with “the operational and traceability evolution of mineral resources.” The minister’s authority is supported by Executive Decree No. 376, dated May 7, 2026, which appointed Blum to lead the portfolio.

Traceability by Batch and Processing Certificate

The new guidelines allow plants to process their own minerals or provide services to holders of current mining rights, including formalized artisanal miners, but prohibit operating without documentary support regarding the origin of the mineral. The Mining Processing Certificate is created, which each plant must issue per batch or processing campaign, featuring a unique and sequential code.

• The certificate shall state the date of issuance, identification of the plant owner, sequential number, holder and registration code of the originating mining right, type of mineral, and quantities processed.
• Before issuing it, the holder shall verify official tax records, including the list from the Internal Revenue Service (SRI), and shall keep proof of the inquiry.
• Certificates must be kept for at least five years, and the obligation persists even if the plant and the mining right belong to the same person.

Technical Requirements and Solvency

Applicants must submit a Work Plan (Annex 1) with a material and water balance, and a tailings deposit project (Annex 2) including geotechnical, hydrological, and seismic studies, design criteria, instrumentation, and monitoring, signed by qualified engineers registered with Senescyt. The authorized capacity of the plant will be subject to the actual and demonstrated capacity of the tailings deposit.

On the economic level, audited financial statements from the last three years, a sworn asset declaration, and bank certification of working capital equivalent to at least 40% of the construction and commissioning budget are required. Final beneficiaries must also be identified, and membership or non-membership in economic groups must be declared.

Deadlines and transition regime

• The Zonal Technical Directorate will verify the requirements within ten days and will grant the same period to remedy omissions; following the reports from the Mining Regulation and Control Agency (ARCOM), there will be fifteen days for complementary information.
• The administrative resolution will be issued within five days and must be registered in the Mining Registry within thirty days; failure to register determines the invalidity of the authorization.
• Renewal must be requested ninety days before expiration and only proceeds if previous acts are current and economic obligations to the State are up to date.
• Holders will have ninety non-extendable days, from the date of publication, to adapt; the resulting information will be mandatory starting from the semi-annual report of the first semester of 2027.

Environment, control, and socialization

Article 18 refers the environmental license to the Environmental Regulation for Mining Activities, while Article 19 empowers the ministry and ARCOM to inspect and audit at any time. The reform was previously published on the institutional website and received contributions from five actors in the mining sector, which were partially accepted according to memorandum MAE-SMAPM-2026-0655-ME. The processing fee will only be enforceable once the governing body of finances issues its ruling and the ministry sets its value.

The reform reorganizes the rules of the game for mineral processing in Ecuador: it tightens traceability and verification of the mineral’s origin, ties plant capacity to the useful life of their tailings dams, and sets a short deadline for existing operations to regularize registrations and capacities before the ministry and ARCOM.

Source: Official Registry, Second Supplement No. 403, November 5, 2026, p. 2 (official reference: MAE-MAE-2026-0107-AM).