On February 12, 2026, Law No. 1275 entered into force, pursuant to which the National Assembly transferred the General Directorate of Mines, previously attached to the Ministry of Energy, to the Office of the Attorney General, through the National Prosecutor’s Office for the Defense of the Environment and Natural Resources.
The measure forms part of an institutional reorganization process aimed at strengthening oversight and administration of the mining regime under a specialized framework.
What changes under the new law?
The Attorney General’s Office now assumes authority over:
- Direction, control, and supervision of the mining concessions and licenses regime.
- Processing and negotiation of concessions.
- Granting, suspension, and cancellation of mining rights.
This model seeks to integrate mining management with a technical and environmental approach, reinforcing regulatory oversight and compliance mechanisms.
Operational continuity and regulatory alignment
The reform also:
- Updates provisions of the Law on the Organization, Competence, and Procedures of the Executive Branch and related sector regulations.
- Establishes the orderly transfer of budgetary resources, assets, and systems to the Office of the Attorney General, ensuring administrative continuity.
Implications for the sector
For operators, the reform represents an institutional update that centralizes management before a specialized authority, promoting greater consistency in the application of the mining legal framework.
