Assembly approved the amendments to the Mining Law

Last Thursday the National Assembly approved a package of reforms to the Mining Law with 105  votes  in favor, 14 against and 14 abstentions, of 133 legislators present at the meeting.

The reforms aim to develop medium-scale mining and clarify some  tax issues for investors, although this week suffered a setback when the Canadian mining company Kinross announced the abandonment of gold project Fruta del Norte, of some 1.2 billion dollars in the province of Zamora.

The authorities of the sector have said that reforms were separate the negotiations with Kinross, though it was included a change in the law that was requested by foreign mining companies regarding a tax for extraordinary income.

The Assembly approved  the controversial tax to be paid once retrieved all of the investment by the company. Before the collection of the tax was projected from the moment  the mine began operations.

The new law creates a medium scale mining, and streamlines procedures for obtaining concessions.