BOLIVIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Ramiro Guevara, Jorge Inchauste and Rosario Echeverría, Dentons Guevara & Gutiérrez S.C.
1. Mining Law: General Framework 1.1 Main Features of the Mining Industry Bolivia is a country with a vast mining tradition going back to before the rise of the Inca empire. The “Cerro Rico” (located in the silver-rich Poto - si district) is a symbol of Bolivian mining and has been producing silver for over 400 years. It continues to be a huge silver deposit, with an estimated total silver endowment (production + resources) of more than 117,000 tonnes (3.7 bil - lion ounces), as well as significant amounts of tin (over 820,000 tonnes) and zinc. Bolivia also has rich potential in unexplored areas: • according to the Bolivian government, more than 60% of the national territory (1,098,581 km sq) is not mapped and/or explored; • the highlands and the Andes areas have well- known potential for base metals; • the Uyuni Salt Flats are among the world’s largest lithium deposits and, along with other smaller deposits, are rich in non-metallic minerals; and • the eastern area of the country has the Mutun iron core deposit, the Precambrian zone has potential for gold and the southeast of the country has potential for platinum-group met - als (PGM), nickel and semi-precious stones. 1.2 Legal System and Sources of Mining Law Based on a civil law system, the Bolivian mining sector is regulated by the following main stat - utes. • The Bolivian Constitution, dated 7 Febru - ary 2019: due to the importance of mineral resources, the Bolivian Constitution has a chapter dedicated to mining and metal -
lurgy. This chapter recognises the elements the Bolivian State must control throughout the mining production chain, including the conduct of activities under a mining contract, mining rights or pre-existing rights. • The Mining and Metallurgy Law (Law No 535 of 28 May 2014) regulates mining activi - ties, establishing principles, guidelines and procedures to grant, maintain and extinguish mining rights. It also establishes the institu - tional structure and the attributions of pub - lic authorities within the mining production chain, among other provisions. • Law No 845 of 24 October 2016 modified the Mining and Metallurgy Law, creating a new type of mining contract, called the “Mining Production Contract”. It also returned to the Bolivian State the areas in which mining co- operatives had mining contracts with national or foreign companies. • Law No 928 of 27 April 2017 incorporated Yacimientos de Litio Boliviano (YLB), which is the state-owned company in charge of all lithium matters and oversees activities throughout the entire lithium production chain in Bolivia. • Law No 367 of 1 May 2013 modifies the Bolivian Criminal Code to include new crimi - nal definitions related to mining activities. This law punishes illegal entry and trespass - ing in mining areas, illegal mining activities and the illegal sale and purchase of mineral resources. • The Regulation for Granting and Termination of Mining Rights, approved by Ministerial Resolution No 023/2055 dated 30 January 2025, regulates the requirements and proce - dures for the subscription of mining contracts and prospecting and exploration licences for minerals and metals, as well as the termina- tion of such contracts and licences.
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