Industry opens hearing to expire the mining concessions of Antracitas de Matarrosa

The Territorial Service of Industry, Commerce, and Economy of León, under the Department of Environment and Energy of the Regional Government of Castilla y León, has opened the hearing process prior to the drafting of the proposal to initiate the administrative procedure to declare the expiration of all resource exploitation concessions under section D) of the Mining Law held by the defunct Antracitas de Matarrosa, S.A. The announcement is published in the Official Gazette of Castilla y León no. 197, dated October 9, 2026, page 254, with reference BOCYL-D-09102026-197-43, and grants interested parties a period of fifteen days to make allegations and present documents in defense of their interests.

A fifteen-day hearing process

The announcement is issued in application of articles 46 and 92 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations. The resolution is dated in León on October 6, 2026, and is signed by Marta Pérez Casado, head of the Territorial Service of Industry, Commerce, and Economy of León, by substitution (Resolution of the Territorial Delegation of 02-14-2018).

This is a preliminary step: the expiration procedure has not yet been formally initiated. The announcement informs all parties interested in said procedure that they have fifteen days to make allegations and present the justifications they deem appropriate.

Section D) concessions in Páramo del Sil and Toreno

The affected mining rights are specified in the following terms:

• Holder: the defunct company Antracitas de Matarrosa, S.A.
• Object: all resource exploitation concessions under section D) of the Mining Law
• Location: lands within the municipal boundaries of Páramo del Sil and Toreno, in the province of León
• Deadline: fifteen days for allegations and submission of documents
• Instructing body: Territorial Service of Industry, Commerce, and Economy of León

A wave of expiration files in El Bierzo

Three days earlier, the Official Gazette of Castilla y León no. 194, dated October 6, 2026, published two announcements of identical content referring to other defunct mining companies in the region. The first affects Alto Bierzo, S.A. (file D(CAD-AB).230928, page 460) and the second Minas del Bierzo Alto, S.L. (file D(CAD-MBA).230928, page 461).

Both files cover concessions located in Igüeña, Torre del Bierzo, Villagatón, Folgoso de la Ribera, Castropodame, Noceda del Bierzo, Toreno, Páramo del Sil, and Bembibre, also in the province of León. Unlike those two cases, the announcement regarding Antracitas de Matarrosa, S.A. does not list a file number.

The future of coal in the Leonese mountains

The expiration of mining titles is the mechanism that allows for the definitive closure of exploitation rights whose holders no longer exist as active companies. Furthermore, sectoral regulations require that the mining authority neither accept the waiver nor authorize the expiration of the title until the corresponding restoration plan has been executed.

For the municipalities of Páramo del Sil and Toreno, the announcement opens the door to the formal extinction of a mining heritage inherited from the coal era and the subsequent reorganization of the affected lands. The resolution of these procedures will determine what happens to concessions that have been inactive for years and that condition land use in the area.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla y León, no. 197, of October 9, 2026, I. Community of Castilla y León – E. Announcements (E.2. Other Official Announcements), page 254 (official reference: BOCYL-D-09102026-197-43).