Extremadura creates the Mining Planning and Management Service

The Governing Council of Extremadura has approved Decree 162/2026, of September 9, which creates the Mining Planning and Management Service within the Directorate General of Industry, Energy, and Mines. The regulation, published in the Official Gazette of Extremadura number 177, of September 14, 2026 (reference 2026040206), modifies the organic structure of the Ministry of Industry, Energy, Science, and Territory and enters into force on the day of its publication.

A specialized service for mining activity

The new body is created to reinforce the structure of the Directorate General of Industry, Energy, and Mines, given “the special technical complexity of the functions assigned to it and the increase in administrative activity linked to the management, authorization, inspection, and control of mining activities.” The stated objective is to improve the organization and specialization of mining management, favoring a more efficient distribution of resources and guaranteeing a more effective, coordinated, and homogeneous exercise of regional competencies.

This creation is part of the reorganization of the regional Administration promoted by the Presidential Decree 11/2026, of April 29, which assigned the Ministry of Industry, Energy, Science, and Territory the competencies regarding industry, energy, and mines. The regulatory framework is completed by Decree 18/2026, of April 30, on basic organic structure, and Decree 107/2026, of May 26, which established the organic structure of the Ministry and is now being modified.

The new structure of the Directorate General

With this reform, the Directorate General of Industry, Energy, and Mines is composed at the service level of the following administrative bodies:

• Industrial, Energy, and Mining Legal Coordination Service.
• Energy Generation and Efficiency Service.
• Energy Transition Promotion Service.
• Industrial and Energy Management Service.
• Supply Standardization and Quality Service.
• Mining Planning and Management Service (new).

Position changes and no additional cost

The regulation also includes a change in designation: the position with code 3167, called “Head of the Industrial, Energy, and Mining Management Service,” is renamed “Head of the Industrial and Energy Management Service.” Both the incorporation of the new service and this change are subject to the creation of the job position that assumes its leadership, through the corresponding modification of the list of job positions in accordance with Law 13/2015, of April 8, on the Public Service of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura.

The decree, signed in Mérida on September 9 by the President of the Board, María Guardiola Martín, and the Minister of Finance, Public Administration and Social Dialogue, María Elena Manzano Silva, expressly guarantees that its approval does not entail an increase in public spending, as the effectiveness of the new service will not be real until the modification of the job positions list.

Relevance for the sector

The creation of this specialized service represents a step toward a more technical and dedicated management of Extremaduran mining, a strategic sector for the region. For companies and professionals in the mining field, it implies a specific administrative interlocutor for the processing of authorizations, inspections, and controls, which is expected to streamline and standardize procedures in an activity of growing economic weight in the community.

Source: Official Gazette of Extremadura, no. 177, September 14, 2026, section I (official reference: 2026040206).