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Whereby The Mining Code Is Issued And Other Provisions (Official Gazette No. 44,545)

Original Language Title: Por la cual se expide el Código de Minas y se dictan otras disposiciones (Diario Oficial No. 44.545)

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LAW 685 OF 2001

(August 15)

Official Journal No. 44.545 of 8 September 2001

By which the Mine Code is issued and other provisions are issued.

Vigency Notes Summary

45 of Law 4a. from 1913 ". >

COLOMBIA CONGRESS

DECRETA:

TITLE FIRST.

GENERAL PROVISIONS.

CHAPTER I.

THE STATE PROPERTY.

ARTICLE 1o. GOALS. This Code has as objectives of public interest to promote the technical exploration and exploitation of the mining resources of state and private property; to stimulate these activities in order to satisfy the requirements of the internal and external demand for the same and to make use of it in a harmonious way with the principles and rules of rational exploitation of non-renewable natural resources and the environment, within a comprehensive concept of development sustainable and the economic and social strengthening of the country.

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ARTICLE 2o. MATERIAL SCOPE OF THE CODE. This Code regulates the legal relations of the State with the individuals and those of each other, because of the works and works of the mining industry in its phases of exploration, exploration, construction and assembly, operation, profit, processing, transport and promotion of minerals found in the soil or subsoil, whether they are national or privately owned. The exploration and exploitation of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons which shall be governed by the special provisions on the matter shall be excluded.

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ARTICLE 3o. FULL REGULATION. The rules and principles enshrined in this Code develop the commands in 25, 80, paragraph 330 items 332, 334, 360 and 361 of the National Constitution, in relation to the mining resources, in a complete, systematic, harmonic and with the sense of specialty and of preferential application. Consequently, the civil and commercial provisions which provide for situations and phenomena governed by this Code shall only apply in mining matters, by direct reference to them in this Code or by application to lack of express rules.

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PARAGRAFO. In any case, the administrative authorities referred to in this Code may not fail to resolve, due to deficiencies in the law, the matters that are proposed to them in the field of their jurisdiction. In this case, they will go to the rules of integration of the law and, failing that, to the Political Constitution.

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ARTICLE 4. General REGIONS. The requirements, formalities, documents and tests expressly stated in this Code for the presentation, processing and resolution of the mining businesses in their administrative procedure until they obtain their improvement, will be unique required for stakeholders. The same principle shall apply in relation to the terms and conditions laid down in this Code for the exercise of the right to explore and exploit minerals and related easements.

Pursuant to Article 84 of the Political Constitution, no authority may establish or require additional permits, licenses or requirements for the provenance of the proposals or for the purpose of issuing, perfecting and exercising the mining title, without prejudice to the competence of the environmental authority.

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ARTICLE 5o. OWNERSHIP OF THE MINING RESOURCES. The minerals of any kind and location, lying on the ground or the subsoil, in any natural physical state, are of the exclusive property of the State, without regard to the property, possession or tenure of the relevant land, be it from other public entities, private entities or communities or groups.

The individual, subjective and concrete legal situations arising from privately owned titles of refined mines in accordance with pre-existing laws remain safe.

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ARTICLE 6o. INALIENABLE AND IMPRECIBILITY. State ownership of non-renewable natural resources is inalienable and imprinted. The right to explore and exploit them is acquired only by granting the titles listed in Article 14 of this Code. No activity of prospecting, exploration or exploitation or material possession of such resources, whatever their age, duration or characteristics, shall confer any right or priority to acquire the mining title or to oppose third-party proposals.

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ARTICLE 7o. PRESUMPTION OF STATE OWNERSHIP. State ownership of the mineral resources lying on the soil or subsoil of the public or private land is presumed to be legal.

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ARTICLE 8o. DISCOVERED DEPOSIT. For all the purposes of this Code, it is understood that a field has been technically discovered when, with the application of the principles, rules and methods of the geology and the engineering of mines, established the existence of a formation or deposit containing proven reserves of one or more minerals, of economic interest.

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ARTICLE 9o. OWNERSHIP OF THE QUARRIES. The owners of the premises who, in accordance with Article 4 of Decree 2655 of 1988, have registered in the National Mining Registry the quarries located in those premises, as discovered and exploited before the validity of such a decree, shall retain their right, under the terms and conditions laid down in this Code.

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ARTICLE 10. DEFINITION OF MINE AND MINERAL. For the purposes of this Code, mine, field, formation or breeding of minerals or of fossil materials, useful and economically usable, shall be found in the soil or subsoil. Also for the same purposes, mineral shall be understood as the crystalline substance, usually inorganic, with its own physical and chemical characteristics due to a specific atomic grouping.

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ARTICLE 11. BUILDING MATERIALS. For all legal effects are considered construction materials, the petreos products exploited in mines and quarries used, generally, in the construction industry as aggregates in the manufacture of concrete pieces, mortars, pavements, earthworks and other similar products. Also, for the same purposes, they are construction materials, the drag materials such as sands, gravel and stones lying on the riverbed and banks of water currents, flood vegas and other alluvial land.

The above materials are referred to as building materials even if they are not intended for this industry.

The granting, validity and exercise of the right to explore and exploit the building materials covered by this article are fully regulated by this Code and are the exclusive competence of the mining authority.

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ARTICLE 12. SALINS. In accordance with Article 5or this Code, deposits and deposits of gem salt, for all legal purposes, are state-owned and shall be governed by the provisions of this Code.

They also belong to the State, such as concessional tax assets, sea salt and salt water springs whose concentration is higher than six (6) degrees B of the Beaume areometer.

The exploration and exploitation of the deposits and deposits of sea salt, sea salt and salt water springs, will be subject to the common system of the concession regulated by this Code.

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ARTICLE 13. PUBLIC UTILITY. Under the development of Article 58 of the Political Constitution, the mining industry in all its branches and phases is declared of public utility and social interest. Therefore, the expropriations of the property of the immovable property and other rights constituted on them, which are necessary, may be decreed in their favour, at the request of an interested party and by the procedures laid down in this Code. for their exercise and efficient development.

The expropriation enshrined in this article, in no case shall proceed on the goods acquired, constructed or destined by the beneficiaries of a mining title, for their exploration or exploitation or for the exercise of their corresponding easements.

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CHAPTER II.

RIGHT TO EXPLORE AND EXPLOIT.

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ARTICLE 14. MINING TITLE. As of the validity of this Code, only the right to explore and exploit state-owned mines may be constituted, declared and tested by means of the mining concession contract, duly granted and registered in the National Mining Registration.

The provisions of this Article leave the rights deriving from exploration licenses, permits or exploitation licenses, operating contracts, and contracts concluded over areas of contribution, in force upon entry into force, to the exception of this article. Code. Likewise, the individual, subjective and concrete legal situations arising from the private ownership of mines which have been perfected before the current status of the present statute are also left.

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ARTICLE 15. NATURE OF THE BENEFICIARY ' S RIGHT. The concession contract and the other securities issued by the State in question, do not transfer to the beneficiary a right of ownership of the minerals "in situ" but to establish, in exclusive and temporary form within the given area, the existence of minerals in quantity and quality that can be used, to appropriate them by means of their extraction or collection and to tax the third-party premises with the necessary easements for the exercise efficient of such activities.

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ARTICLE 16. VALIDITY OF THE PROPOSAL. The first application or proposal for a concession, while it is being processed, does not, on its own, confer on the State the right to conclude the concession contract. In respect of other applications or against third parties, it confers only the person concerned, a right of precedence or preference to obtain such a concession if it brings together for the effect, the legal requirements.

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ARTICLE 17. LEGAL CAPACITY. The legal capacity to formulate a proposal for a mining concession and to conclude the corresponding contract, is governed by the general provisions on state procurement. Such capacity, in the case of legal persons, public or private, requires that mining exploration and exploitation be included in its object, specifically and specifically.

When Temporary Unions receive concessions, they must be constituted as a societarian figure, with the same participation as deriving from the proposal presented.

They will also be able to submit proposals and conclude concession contracts, a case in which their members will respond jointly and severally to the ensuing obligations.

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ARTICLE 18. FOREIGN PERSONS. Foreign natural and legal persons, as proponents or contractors of mining concessions, will have the same rights and obligations as Colombian nationals. The mining and environmental authorities may not, in the field of their jurisdiction, require additional or different requirements, conditions and formalities, except those expressly mentioned in this Code.

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ARTICLE 19. FOREIGN COMPANIES. Foreign legal persons may, through their representative in Colombia, present and process proposals. For the conclusion of the concession contract they must establish a branch, subsidiary or subsidiary, domiciled in the national territory. Such a requirement shall also be required for such persons to engage in the exploration and exploitation of privately owned mines, as holders of the corresponding right, or as operators or contractors of the owners or tenderers. They shall ensure, in due course, to the granting authority, the obligations they contract in the country, either with the guarantee of the person receiving the work or service or with the endorsement of a banking institution or an insurance undertaking operating in the country. in Colombia.

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ARTICLE 20. WORKS AND SERVICES COMPANIES. Foreign companies domiciled abroad that perform works or provide services in any branch or phase of the mining industry, with a duration of not more than one year, will not require the establishment of a subsidiary, subsidiary or branch in the national territory. They must, in their place, be duly assured by the granting authority of the obligations which they contract in the country, either with the guarantee of the person benefiting from the work or service or with the endorsement of a bank or a company of insurance to operate in Colombia. If the duration of the works and services are greater, they must establish the subsidiary, subsidiary or branch.

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ARTICLE 21. INABILITY OR INCOMPATIBILITIES. They will be caused by inability or incompatibility to formulate proposals or to conclude mining concession contracts, those laid down in the general law on state procurement that are relevant and the special referred to in article 163 of this Code.

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ARTICLE 22. ASSIGNMENT OF RIGHTS. The assignment of rights emanating from a concession, will require prior written notice to the entity. If this notice is received by that entity, it is not pronounced by means of a reasoned decision in the term of forty-five (45) days, it is understood that it has no repair to the cession and the negotiation document will be entered in the National Mining Registry.

In order to be able to be entered in the National Mining Registry, the transferor must prove that he has fulfilled all the obligations arising out of the concession contract.

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ARTICLE 23. EFFECTS OF THE ASSIGNMENT. The transfer of the rights arising out of the contract may not be subject to any term or condition of the parties as regards the State. In the case of total disposal, the transferee shall be subrogated to all the obligations arising out of the contract, even if they are contracted before the transfer and which are pending completion.

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ARTICLE 24. PARTIAL ASSIGNMENT. The partial transfer of the right of the concession contract may be made by quotas or percentages of that right. In this case, transferor and transferee shall be jointly and severally liable for the obligations incurred.

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ARTICLE 25. ASSIGNMENT OF AREAS. There may be a transfer of the rights arising out of the concession contract, by means of the material division of the area requested or covered by it. This transfer class may include the right to use works, installations, equipment and machinery and the exercise of the easements inherent in the contract, unless otherwise agreed by the parties concerned.

The assignment of areas will give birth to a new contract with the transferee, which will be perfected with the corresponding registration of the transfer document in the National Mining Registry.

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ARTICLE 26. Encumbrances. The right to explore and exploit state-owned mines may be taxed or given as a guarantee of obligations under the conditions and modalities laid down in this Code.

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ARTICLE 27. SUBCONTRACTS. The beneficiary of a mining title shall be free to carry out all studies, works and works to which he is obliged, by means of any kind of work or execution contract which does not involve sub-contractors in the rights and obligations arising from the title, nor do they confer upon them the right to participate in the minerals to be exploited. For such contracts, no permission or notice shall be required from the mining authority.

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ARTICLE 28. PRIVATE PROPERTY TITLES. The assignment to any title and cause and the transmission by cause of death, of the private property on the mines, as well as the constitution of encumbrances on the same, shall be governed by the civil provisions and trade. Additionally, they must be entered in the Mining Registry.

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ARTICLE 29. EXTINCTION OF RIGHTS. The rights of property of private persons on mining land and subsoil or on mines that have been recognized and preserved in the terms, conditions and modalities laid down in Law 20 of 1969, the Decree 2655 of 1988 and Law 97 of 1993, shall be deemed to be extinguished if the interested parties suspend the exploration or exploitation for more than twelve (12) continuous months, without justified cause constitutive of fortuitous case or force majeure. The evidence of such a cause must be presented by the person concerned at the request of the mining authority, at any time and within the time limit laid down by him.

In any case the providence that declares the extinction shall be motivated and against it shall proceed the resource of replenishment.

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ARTICLE 30. LEGAL PROVENANCE. Any person who, at any rate, supplies minerals exploited in the country to be used in works, industries and services, must prove the lawful origin of these minerals with the identification of the mine where they come from, by means of certification of origin issued by the beneficiary of the mining title or constancy issued by the respective Mayor for the work of barequeo, which is dealt with in Article 155 of the Code. This requirement shall be expressly stated in the contract or work order or supply order to be issued to the supplier.

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CHAPTER III.

RESERVED, EXCLUDED, AND RESTRICTED ZONES.

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ARTICLE 31. SPECIAL RESERVES. 147 of Decree 19 of 2012. The new text is as follows: > The Mining Authority or who does its times, for reasons of social or economic order, determined in each case, ex officio or at the express request of the mining community, in those areas where there are holdings The traditional mining industry will define areas in which new proposals will temporarily not be accepted, on all or some minerals. Its purpose will be to advance geologic-mining studies and to develop strategic mining projects for the country and its implementation. In any case, these geologic-mining studies and the initiation of the respective projects may not take more than two (2) years. The concession shall be granted only to the same communities which have been engaged in the traditional mining operations, as well as the request of third parties. All of the above, without prejudice to existing mining titles.

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ARTICLE 32. THE FREE AREA. The areas covered by the special reserves which have not been linked to the Community's mining programmes and projects shall be free to be granted to the third proposers under the ordinary concession scheme. regulated by this Code.

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ARTICLE 33. NATIONAL SECURITY ZONES. The National Government may establish only for reasons of national security, areas within which no proposals may be submitted or concession contracts may be concluded for all or certain minerals. This reservation shall be valid for as long as the circumstances have been established by the Government. In the event of the abolition or modification of the said reservation, the same act shall determine how the individuals, on equal terms, may submit proposals to contract the exploration and exploitation of the areas under the ordinary regime. grant.

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ARTICLE 34. ELIGIBLE AREAS OF MINING. No work and exploration and mining works may be carried out in areas declared and demarcated in accordance with current regulations as protection and development of renewable or natural resources. In accordance with the legal provisions on the matter, they expressly exclude such works and works.

The exclusion zones mentioned above will be those that are in accordance with the existing provisions, such as areas that integrate the system of natural national parks, regional nature parks and forest reserve zones. These zones to produce these effects must be geographically delimited by the environmental authority based on technical, social and environmental studies with the collaboration of the mining authority, in those areas of mining interest.

In order to allow for the exclusion or restriction of works of mining exploration and exploitation in the areas of protection and development of renewable natural resources or the environment, the act declaring them must be expressly motivated by studies that determine the incompatibility or restriction in relation to mining activities.

However, the mining authority prior to the administrative act based on the environmental authority that decrees the subtraction of the required area, may authorize that in the areas mentioned in this article, with the exception of the parks, (a) to be able to pre-empt mining activities in a restricted manner or only by certain methods and extraction systems that do not affect the objectives of the exclusion zone. For this purpose, the interested party in the Concession Contract must present the studies demonstrating the compatibility of the mining activities with such objectives.

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ARTICLE 35. RESTRICTED MINING AREAS. The following areas and locations may be used for the work and exploration and exploitation of mines, with the following restrictions:

a) Within the urban perimeter of the cities or towns, indicated by the municipal agreements adopted in accordance with the legal norms on the municipal regime, except in the areas in which the mining activities are prohibited style="text-decoration: line-through; ">according to those rules

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b) In areas occupied by rural buildings, including their orchards, gardens, and solar attachments, provided that their owner or holder's consent is provided and there is no danger to the health and integrity of their inhabitants;

c) In areas defined as of special archaeological, historical or cultural interest as long as the authorization of the competent authorityis counted;

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(d) On beaches, lowland areas and inland waterways served by public transport undertakings and the continuous use of which has been established by the competent authority, if this authority, under certain technical conditions and operational, which it itself points out, allows prior such activities to be carried out on such journeys;

e) In areas occupied by a public work or attached to a public service as long as:

i. Have the prior permission of the person to whom they are responsible for the use and management of the work or service;

ii. the rules applicable to the work or service are not incompatible with the mining activity to be executed and

iii. that the exercise of mining in such areas does not affect the stability of buildings and facilities in use of the work or service.

f) In areas formed as indigenous mining areas, provided that the relevant Community authorities, within the time limit laid down to them, have not exercised their preferential right to obtain the mining title for exploration and exploit, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter XIV of this Code;

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g) In areas formed as mining areas of black communities provided that the relevant Community authorities, within the time limit laid down by them, have not exercised their preferential right to obtain the mining title for to explore and exploit, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter XIV of this Code;

(h) In areas constituted as mixed mining areas, provided that the relevant Community authorities, within the time limit laid down by them, have not exercised their preferential right to obtain the mining title for exploration and exploit, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter XIV of this Code.

Once the entities referred to in this article have been consulted, the officials to whom the corresponding application is made must resolve it in the term of 30 days, subject to disciplinary action. Past this term the competent authority will resolve the relevant.

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ARTICLE 36. EFFECTS OF EXCLUSION OR RESTRICTION. In the concession contracts, the areas, land and routes in which, of compliance with the above articles, mining activity is prohibited or will be deemed to be conditional upon obtaining permits or special authorizations. Such exclusion or restriction shall not be required to be declared by any authority or express in the acts and contracts or the waiver of the proposer or concessionaire to the aforementioned areas and grounds. If in fact these areas and lands are occupied by works or works of the concessionaire, the mining authority will order its immediate withdrawal and eviction, without payment, compensation or compensation for this cause. The above, without prejudice to the actions initiated by the competent authorities in each case where there is a place.

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ARTICLE 37. LEGAL BAN.

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ARTICLE 38. TERRITORIAL PLANNING. In the elaboration, modification and implementation of the territorial planning plans, the competent authority shall be subject to the geological-mining information available on the respective zones, as well as the provisions of the present Code on special reserve areas and eligible areas of mining.

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CHAPTER IV.

PROSPECTION.

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ARTICLE 39. MINE PROSPECTING. The prospecting of mines is free, except in the territories defined as mining areas for ethnic minorities as provided for in Chapter XIV of this Code. Where it is to be carried out on land of particular property, notice shall be required prior to the owner, holder, holder or administrator, directly or through the mayor. When it is to be carried out on public goods under the jurisdiction of the Maritime Directorate-General, in accordance with Article 2 of Decree-Law 2324 of 1984 and other rules which modify, replace or repeal it, will require your favorable technical concept.

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ARTICLE 40. PROSPECTING MEANS. The prospection is a process to investigate the existence of minerals delimiting promising zones and their methods consist, among others, in the identification of outcrops, geological mapping, studies geophysical and geochemical and surface research, in areas not subject to exclusive rights. The subsoil methods are excluded from prospecting.

PARAGRAFO. When prospecting takes place in the maritime spaces and in the areas enclosed in the rivers, on which the Maritime Directorate General has jurisdiction, it must be informed for the purpose.

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ARTICLE 41. mining operator and the owners, holders or holders of the premises where the prospecting works are carried out, may request through the mayor that those who carry out the mentioned tasks of prospecting constitute a means of to ensure the damage that may be caused to them. This course will be established on the basis of the rules and criteria of Chapter XVIII of this Code and taking into account the temporality and nature of the corresponding works.

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