New law raises mining royalties and creates a discount for projects in process

Law No. 21,853, which modifies the Mining Code and laws numbers 21,420 and 21,649 regarding mining protection, was published this Thursday, November 5, 2026, in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, edition no. 44,591, section I, pages 1 to 4, with official reference CVE 2898425. The regulation, promulgated in Santiago on October 30, 2026, by President José Antonio Kast Rist, sets the annual patent for exploitation concessions at four-tenths of a monthly tax unit per full hectare and creates a reduced patent of one-tenth for projects in processing and for small-scale mining.

The text was endorsed by the Minister of Mining, Daniel Mas Valdés; the Minister of Finance, Jorge Quiroz Castro; the Minister of Energy, Ximena Rincón González; and the Acting Minister of the Environment, José Ignacio Vial Barros, and was transcribed by the Undersecretary of Mining, Álvaro González Gorroño. In the same article 1, the expression “Ministry of Mining” is replaced by “Ministry of Energy” in the sixth paragraph of article 9 of the Mining Code, and the figures in the fourth paragraph of article 142 are adjusted upward from 100 to 150 and from 50 to 100.

Four-tenths per hectare and a one-tenth reduction

The new article 142 bis sets the annual exploitation patent at four-tenths of a monthly tax unit per full hectare, but allows holders, tenants, usufructuaries, or whoever exploits the claims under any legitimate title to access a reduced patent of one-tenth of a UTM per hectare when any of these situations are met:

• Claims included in a mining development project in the stage of exploration, prospecting, construction, exploitation, mineral processing, or site closure, whose holder has a permit or form admitted for processing before the National Geology and Mining Service, a sworn statement, or an alternative enabling technique under Law No. 21,770.
• Projects that have a favorable Environmental Qualification Resolution or have been admitted for processing in the Environmental Impact Assessment System, in accordance with Law No. 19,300, while the resolution is in effect or the project is in processing.
• Claims for which geological information has been submitted in compliance with article 21, with certified confirmation of receipt by the Service, a benefit that will apply for five consecutive payment periods.

It shall be sufficient for a single claim of the same owner, included in the same survey act, to fall under any of these hypotheses for it to be legally presumed that all of them do.

Small producers and registration in Enami

Article 142 ter maintains a special regime: the holder of holdings whose total extension does not exceed 500 hectares and who carries out work within the area of at least one concession shall pay one-tenth of a monthly tax unit per full hectare. To prove the grounds, it will be sufficient to do so once, with the condition being presumed for five years. Natural or legal persons registered with the National Mining Company or another established purchasing power may apply, and they must be up to date with the payment of their patents; anyone who loses the requirements shall pay according to article 142 bis starting in March of the following year.

The 2026 payment is moved to February 28, 2027

The fifth transitory provision obliges the General Treasury of the Republic to postpone the payment deadline for the 2026 annual patent until February 28, 2027, and to waive, until that date, the late payment surcharge under article 149. It must also update the lists of delinquent debtors sent to the courts and sign, at the request of the interested party, payment agreements in monthly installments of up to twelve months. The changes to articles 147, 150, 152, and 155 will take effect from the 2027 patent payment process, while the amounts in articles 142 bis and 142 ter will take effect once the modifications to the Regulations of the Mining Code are published, which must be issued within six months.

The law also repeals numerals 13 and 14 of article 10 of Law No. 21,420 and the second transitory article of Law No. 21,649, although it maintains the benefit for those who already met those requirements. The National Geology and Mining Service must publish annually, broken down by region, information on the number of concessions and hectares eligible for the reduced patent, the grounds invoked, and the revoked benefits.

The change directly impacts the cost of maintaining non-operational concessions: it increases the exploitation patent but provides a reduced payment path for those who prove projects in process or small producer status, with immediate relief for the 2026 fiscal year.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, no. 44,591, Thursday, November 5, 2026, section I, General Norms, pp. 1-4 (official reference: CVE 2898425).