Business Editors

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum is almost ready for the draft of the new Mining Law to regulate the industry.

The mining authorities expect to meet today with the agent for delivery Rafael Correa's official text.

One of the points that still had to be defined and should be polished in the afternoon and evening yesterday was related to royalties state.

The rule proposes to set royalties and gradually establish a range in line with international scales.

These currently range between 3 and 5% in the region. algunos In any event is expected to set a royalty on sales after deducting certain expenses of the mining.

The final figure will define the Presidency of the Republic. The adviser to the Department of Mines, Javier Cordova, anticipated that the new law will strengthen the environmental issue for the mining sector. This was revised legislation that applies in other countries such as Canada, Chile, Peru, etc..

The new law seeks to encourage mining activity with a new law to lift the existing restrictions on exploration, although increased state control in the sector with demands for investment and environmental protection, said the undersecretary of Mines, Jose Serrano Reuters.

"What is being established is a mechanism in which not limit the number of concessions for the exploration phase, but also a procedure to reduce the concession areas as they are doing (this work)," he added.

The idea, according to the official, is that when completed the exploration phase the concessionaire has no more than 50% of the area originally requested.

And when it starts operation is not taken more than 5000 hectares, he said.

This would ensure that the mining today are in the country retain its main projects.

The Regime harden the conditions to conserve the areas granted to compel companies to invest minimum per hectare per year, added the official of the Ministry.