in the entirety of the text - Full Text of Law 10132 Law for the strengthening and environmental improvement of artisanal mining in Abangares No. 10132 THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA
STRENGTHENING AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT OF ARTISANAL MINING IN ABANGARES, THROUGH THE AMENDMENT OF LAW 8904, REFORM OF THE SECOND PARAGRAPH AND ADDITION OF SEVERAL PARAGRAPHS TO ARTICLE 8; ADDITION OF ARTICLE 8 BIS; ADDITION OF SUBSECTION F) TO ARTICLE 65, AND REFORM OF SUBSECTION K) OF ARTICLE 103 OF THE MINING CODE, LAW NO. 6797, OF OCTOBER 4, 1982 AND ITS AMENDMENTS, LAW TO DECLARE COSTA RICA A COUNTRY FREE OF OPEN-PIT METAL MINING, OF DECEMBER 1, 2010, AND OF LAW 6797, MINING CODE, OF OCTOBER 4 1982 SOLE ARTICLE - Transitory Provision I is amended and Transitory Provisions VIII, IX, and X are added to Law 8904, Reform of the Second Paragraph and Addition of Several Paragraphs to Article 8; Addition of Article 8 bis; Addition of Subsection f) to Article 65, and Reform of Subsection k) of Article 103 of the Mining Code, Law No. 6797, of October 4, 1982 and its Amendments, Law to Declare Costa Rica a Country Free of Open-Pit Metal Mining, of December 1, 2010. The texts are as follows:
Transitory Provision I- During the eight-year period, counting from the entry into force of this amendment, the prohibition on the use of leaching techniques with cyanide and mercury shall not apply to workers organized in mining cooperatives engaged in small-scale mining for family subsistence, artisanal, and coligallero exploitation. Within that period, these persons shall have the obligation to reconvert their activities toward the development of alternative, more environmentally friendly technologies; for this purpose, they shall have the support, advice, and technical and financial assistance of the Costa Rican State.
For such purposes, within that same period, the State must provide support, advice, and technical assistance to the workers from the communities neighboring the mining exploitation who are duly organized in cooperatives dedicated to small-scale mining for family subsistence, artisanal, and coligallero mining, so that they progressively reduce, until reaching the elimination of, the use of mercury and mercury compounds and the emissions and releases of mercury into the environment from this activity, conforming to the measures, timelines, and the action plan that the Executive Branch determines, in accordance with Law 9391, Minamata Convention on Mercury, of August 16, 2016.
The leaching techniques with cyanide and mercury may continue to be used under the strictest controls that the State determines to avoid environmental damage and damage to people's health, in accordance with the plans referred to, until the State certifies the various concessionaire cooperatives as users of environmentally friendly technologies, in accordance with the action plan mentioned. For these purposes, the State shall have a period until February 10, 2025. The failure to meet this deadline, on the part of the Executive Branch, may constitute the crime of breach of duties defined in Article 339 of Law 4573, Penal Code, of May 4, 1970.
For these purposes, the small-scale mining activity, the artisanal and coligallero mining shall have the status of a priority sector in access to credit for their development, in accordance with the provisions of Article 7 of Law 8634, Development Banking System, of April 23, 2008, and the state banking system.
Transitory Provision VIII- Within a period of two months, counted from the entry into force of this law, the Ministry of Environment and Energy (Minae), through the Directorate of Geology and Mines, must conduct a study on the status of all pending applications for resolution, as well as the permits and concessions granted in the mining reserve area established in Article 8 of Law 6797, Mining Code, of October 4, 1982. It shall immediately proceed to the cancellation, following application of due process, of the concessions that do not comply with the provisions of said article. Likewise, it shall archive, without further procedure, all the applications for permits or concessions that are in that same condition of non-compliance.
The public officials responsible for failing to comply with the deadlines established in this law shall incur the crime of breach of duties, in accordance with the provisions of Article 339 of Law 4573, Penal Code, of May 4, 1979.
Transitory Provision IX- Within three months following the publication of this law, the Executive Branch must issue regulations for the provisions of Article 8 of Law 6797, Mining Code, of October 4, 1982. Said regulations shall include the provisions necessary to organize and provide legal certainty to the activity of small-scale mining for family subsistence, artisanal, and coligallero mining.
Furthermore, it must contemplate the assistance and incentives necessary to promote the development of clean technologies, as well as the promotion of sustainable productive alternatives such as mining tourism, goldsmithing, and other options that add value to small-scale mining production for family subsistence, artisanal, and coligallero mining. The Ministry of Environment and Energy (Minae), the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC), the National Learning Institute (INA), the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), the Rural Development Institute (Inder), the Joint Institute for Social Aid (IMAS), the National Institute for Cooperative Promotion (Infocoop), the Development Banking System, and public banks must collaborate, within their respective spheres of competence, so that the State provides the required assistance, incentives, and promotion. The Executive Branch shall include, in these regulations, the creation of an inter-institutional commission with the institutions mentioned in this transitory provision, as well as any other it deems necessary, to be able to fulfill these objectives.
The failure to comply with the obligations described in this transitory provision, on the part of the respective authorities, shall be sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of Article 339 of Law 4573, Penal Code, of May 4, 1970.
Transitory Provision X- As of the entry into force of this law, and for a period of eighteen months, the exploitation and processing of gold is hereby enabled for the mining workers duly associated with the mining cooperatives referred to in Article 8 of the Mining Code, who have submitted concession applications for the mining reserve area of this canton, for which they must submit the corresponding application before the Directorate of Geology and Mines of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, indicating:
- a)That the material comes solely from the canton of Abangares, from the concession area or the area requested in concession, as applicable.
- b)The type of material to be exported, the quantity and weight, both gross and net, that belong exclusively to the tariff headings of the Central American Tariff System (SAC), namely, headings 710811000000, 710812000000, 710813000000, 710820000000.
- c)The country, place of destination, and means of transport to be used.
- d)The estimated commercial value.
It shall be effective as of its publication.
Done in the Presidency of the Republic, San José, on the tenth day of February of the year two thousand twenty-two.
DECREES: