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Mining concessions in Chile: how courts grant them, size and term limits, filing fees, the annual patent, surface access and easements

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Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

In Chile a civil court grants mining concessions in a non contentious procedure. No ministry has a say, and once filed and registered the claims are real property that can be sold, mortgaged or inherited. An exploration concession covers up to 5,000 hectares and lasts four years, with one extension of up to four more. An exploitation concession covers up to 10 hectares per claim, has no end date, and stays alive as long as the annual patent is paid every March. You pay a one time filing fee per hectare, then the patent. Unpaid patents send the concession to judicial auction. Exploring on someone else's land, and using it for a mine, needs the owner's permission, a court permit or a court easement with compensation.

USD figures use the Central Bank exchange rate of CLP 986.58 per US dollar published in the Diario Oficial for 23 October 2026 (CVE 2891564). UTM amounts use the SII value of CLP 72,151 for October 2026. Filing fees and patents are paid at the UTM in force on the payment date, so CLP and USD amounts are for orientation only.

Key facts

Maximum area of one exploration concession	5,000 hectaresCódigo de Minería art. 28, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum area of one exploitation claim (pertenencia)	10 hectaresCódigo de Minería art. 28, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Term of an exploration concession, extendable once by up to the same period	4 yearsCódigo de Minería art. 112, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Term of an exploitation concession	Indefinite textLey Nº 18.097 art. 17, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Top filing fee per hectare, exploration application over 3,000 ha	0.04 UTM per hectareCódigo de Minería art. 51, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Top filing fee per hectare, exploitation filing over 600 ha	0.05 UTM per hectareCódigo de Minería art. 51, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Month in which the annual mining patent is paid in advance	March textCódigo de Minería art. 143, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Bar on the former holder reapplying for exploration over the same area after the concession ends	1 yearsCódigo de Minería art. 112 bis, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Mining concessions are created by a court resolution in a non contentious procedure, with no decision making role for any other authority or person. Disputes raised during the procedure go to a separate suit and do not stop it. Once registered, an exploration application (pedimento) and an exploitation claim filing (manifestación) are real property rights in immovable property, transferable and inheritable under the rules for land. From registration the applicant may carry out the work needed to constitute the concession, and the court may order police assistance if the surface owner obstructs, on a favourable report of SERNAGEOMIN.
Cost to do it: No price is paid to the State for the concession itself. Costs are the filing fee in rule 3, the survey (mensura) and the lawyer and surveyor, which are private professional fees not set by law.Ley Nº 18.248, Código de Minería; Ley Nº 18.097, Ley Orgánica Constitucional sobre Concesiones Mineras, Código de Minería art. 34, art. 53 and art. 54; Ley Nº 18.097 art. 5, 1983-10-14 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Each concession is a solid of indefinite depth whose top face is a right angled parallelogram oriented UTM north south. Sides of an exploitation claim (pertenencia) measure at least 100 metres or multiples of 100, with a maximum of 10 hectares per claim. Sides of an exploration concession measure at least 1,000 metres or multiples of 1,000, with a maximum of 5,000 hectares. An exploration concession lasts four years from the judgment that constitutes it. The holder may extend it once for up to four more years by filing with SERNAGEOMIN, in the first six months of the last year, a report with all geological information obtained, or evidence of an environmental approval (RCA) or of admission of the exploration project to environmental assessment. An exploitation concession has indefinite duration. During an exploration concession only its holder may explore within it and file exploitation claims there, and the holder keeps a preference to constitute the exploitation concession.
Cost to do it: The extension needs a geological report or environmental filing; the State charges no extension fee in the Code.Ley Nº 18.248, Código de Minería, as amended by Ley Nº 21.420; Ley Nº 18.097, as amended by Ley Nº 21.649, Código de Minería art. 28, art. 112, art. 113 and art. 114; Ley Nº 18.097 art. 10, art. 11 and art. 17, 2022-02-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.420, published on 4 February 2022 (art. 10 Nº 11), doubled the exploration term from two years to four, and replaced the old extension of up to two years, which required giving up at least half of the area, with an extension of up to four years tied to a geological report or environmental milestone. Ley Nº 21.649 (Diario Oficial 30 December 2023) aligned Ley Nº 18.097 art. 17 with the four year term.

3. A one time filing fee is paid to the Treasury for each exploration application and each exploitation claim filing, expressed in hundredths of a UTM per full hectare. Exploration: 0.005 UTM per hectare if the total area applied for is up to 300 hectares, 0.02 UTM over 300 up to 1,500, 0.03 UTM over 1,500 up to 3,000 and 0.04 UTM over 3,000. Exploitation filings: 0.01 UTM per hectare up to 100 hectares, 0.02 UTM over 100 up to 300, 0.04 UTM over 300 up to 600 and 0.05 UTM over 600. The fee is due within 30 days of filing with the court and is paid at any bank authorised to collect taxes.
Cost to do it: 0.005 to 0.04 UTM per hectare for exploration and 0.01 to 0.05 UTM per hectare for exploitation filings, depending on the total area.
Example: A 5,000 hectare exploration application pays 0.04 UTM per hectare, 200 UTM, CLP 14,430,200 at the October 2026 UTM. A 300 hectare exploitation filing pays 0.02 UTM per hectare, 6 UTM, CLP 432,906. / About US$14,626 for the 5,000 hectare exploration application and about US$439 for the 300 hectare exploitation filing.Ley Nº 18.248, Código de Minería, Art. 51, 1983-10-14 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. From filing the exploration application until one year after the exploration concession ends, for any reason, its former holder may not acquire, directly or through another person, a new exploration concession over all or part of the same area. Acting through another person is presumed where the new applicant is the former holder's spouse, civil partner or close relative, an employee or an attorney in fact. Anyone may denounce a breach in court. If proven, the court treats the application as not filed or the concession as lapsed, the holder loses its preference to constitute exploitation claims, and the successful denouncer may file over the area within 90 days with the priority date of the denounced application.
Cost to do it: No fee. The cost of a breach is loss of the application or concession and of the preference over the area.Ley Nº 18.248, Código de Minería, as amended by Ley Nº 21.420, Art. 112 bis, 2022-02-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.420 (art. 10 Nº 12), published on 4 February 2022, added art. 112 bis to stop holders rolling over exploration concessions on the same ground.

5. A concession is protected (amparo) by paying an annual patent in advance during March at any bank authorised to collect taxes. Exploration pays 0.06 UTM per full hectare a year. Exploitation pays 0.1 UTM per hectare when worked or in a project with an RCA or admitted to environmental assessment, and a rising rate from 0.4 to 12 UTM per hectare when idle. Small and artisanal miners recognised by SERNAGEOMIN pay one ten thousandth of a UTM per hectare on claims they work, up to 100 or 50 hectares for individuals, for two annual payment periods at a time. The first patent falls due when the holder asks for the constitutive judgment or for the survey, prorated to the following end of February. Patents are not refunded when a concession is later abandoned or lapses. If the patent is not paid, a judicial auction of the concession begins; payment can only be enforced against that concession, and the action prescribes three years from 1 April of the year the patent was due. If the auction gets no bidders, the court declares the ground free and the concession lapses. A sum equal to patents that are not taxes is shared 70 percent to the regional development fund of the region where the concession is registered and 30 percent to the municipalities where it lies.
Cost to do it: 0.06 UTM per hectare for exploration, 0.1 UTM per hectare for worked exploitation claims, up to 12 UTM per hectare for long idle claims.
Example: A 5,000 hectare exploration concession pays 300 UTM a year, CLP 21,645,300. A 300 hectare exploitation group in operation pays 30 UTM, CLP 2,164,530. / About US$21,940 a year for the 5,000 hectare exploration concession and about US$2,194 for the 300 hectares in operation.Ley Nº 18.248, Código de Minería, as amended by Ley Nº 21.420; Ley Nº 18.097; Ley Nº 19.143, Código de Minería art. 142, art. 142 bis, art. 143, art. 144, art. 145 and art. 146; Ley Nº 18.097 art. 18; Ley Nº 19.143 sole article, 2022-02-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.420, published on 4 February 2022, raised the exploration patent from one fiftieth (0.02) to three fiftieths (0.06) of a UTM per hectare, kept 0.1 UTM for exploitation claims that are worked, and added the rising scale for idle exploitation claims in art. 142 bis.

6. Anyone may freely search (catar y cavar) on open, uncultivated land, whoever owns it. Elsewhere the written permission of the owner, possessor or holder is needed, or of the governor or mayor for national or municipal land; if refused, a judge can authorise the work for up to six months, with compensation for any damage and a bond if the owner asks. Only the owner can authorise work in houses or in vineyards and orchards. Working within a city, in cemeteries or port beaches, within 50 metres of buildings, public roads, railways, high voltage lines and public watercourses, or within 200 metres of dams and telecommunication stations, needs the governor's written permit. Breach is fined 1 to 50 UTM, and on a repeat at least double the earlier fine up to 100 UTM, plus damages.
Cost to do it: Compensation for damage to the surface, as agreed or fixed by the judge, plus a bond where required. Fines for working in restricted places without permit run from 1 to 50 UTM (CLP 72,151 to CLP 3,607,550, about US$73 to US$3,657), up to 100 UTM on a repeat (CLP 7,215,100, about US$7,313).Ley Nº 18.248, Código de Minería, Art. 15, art. 16, art. 17 and art. 18, 1983-10-14 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. From the constitution of the concession, surface land is subject to legal easements for mining: occupation for ore yards, waste dumps, tailings and slag, extraction and processing plants, communication systems, canals, dams, pipes, housing and other works, and transit and occupation for roads, railways, airstrips, pipes, tunnels, conveyors and any system linking the concession to public roads, plants, ports and consumers. Easements are constituted after the compensation for all damage to the landowner or other affected party is fixed. While the suit runs, the judge may let the miner use the easement at once if it posts a sufficient bond.
Cost to do it: Compensation to the landowner for all damage, agreed or fixed by the court, plus a bond for early use.Ley Nº 18.248, Código de Minería, Art. 120, art. 122 and art. 125, 1983-10-14 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Filing	Total area	UTM per hectare	CLP per hectare	USD per hectare
Exploration application	Up to 300 ha	0.005	361	about 0.37
Exploration application	Over 300 up to 1,500 ha	0.02	1,443	about 1.46
Exploration application	Over 1,500 up to 3,000 ha	0.03	2,165	about 2.19
Exploration application	Over 3,000 ha	0.04	2,886	about 2.93
Exploitation filing	Up to 100 ha	0.01	722	about 0.73
Exploitation filing	Over 100 up to 300 ha	0.02	1,443	about 1.46
Exploitation filing	Over 300 up to 600 ha	0.04	2,886	about 2.93
Exploitation filing	Over 600 ha	0.05	3,608	about 3.66

One time filing fee per full hectare (Código de Minería art. 51), with CLP and USD per hectare at the October 2026 UTM of CLP 72,151 and CLP 986.58 per US dollar. The band is set by the total area of the application or filing.

Feature	Exploration concession	Exploitation concession
Maximum size	5,000 ha, sides in multiples of 1,000 m	10 ha per claim, sides in multiples of 100 m
Term	4 years, one extension of up to 4 years	Indefinite while the patent is paid
Main right	Explore exclusively and file exploitation claims inside it	Explore and exploit, and own the concessible minerals extracted
Annual patent	0.06 UTM per ha	0.1 UTM per ha if worked or in environmental assessment; 0.4 to 12 UTM per ha if idle

Exploration and exploitation concessions compared (Código de Minería art. 28, 112 to 114, 142 bis; Ley Nº 18.097 art. 10, 11, 17)

Worked example

A junior explorer applies for 5,000 hectares of exploration ground. It pays the filing fee of 200 UTM within 30 days of filing (CLP 14,430,200, about US$14,626) and, once it asks for the constitutive judgment, a first patent prorated to the end of February. From then on it pays 300 UTM each March (CLP 21,645,300, about US$21,940) for up to four years (Código de Minería art. 51, 112, 142 bis and 144).
In year four it files a geological report with SERNAGEOMIN during the first six months and gets one extension of up to four more years. Meanwhile it files exploitation claims over 300 hectares inside its exploration area, paying 6 UTM in filing fees (CLP 432,906, about US$439), and gives up the remaining exploration ground (Código de Minería art. 51, 112 and 114).
If it lets the exploration concession lapse and wants the ground back, it must wait a year: art. 112 bis bars the former holder, its relatives, employees and attorneys from reapplying over the same area for one year.

Step by step

1. Check the national mining cadastre and registers of the Conservador de Minas for existing claims over the target area, and whether it is in a zone declared of importance for national security, where no concession can be granted (Código de Minería art. 7).
2. Agree surface access with the landowner or ask the judge for a search permit; get the governor's permit for restricted places (Código de Minería art. 15 to 17).
3. File the exploration application or exploitation claim filing with the competent civil court, register it with the Conservador de Minas and pay the filing fee within 30 days (Código de Minería art. 51 and 54).
4. Follow the court procedure to the constitutive judgment (exploration) or the survey and judgment (exploitation). The first patent falls due when you ask for the judgment or the survey (Código de Minería art. 144).
5. Diary every March for the patent; move worked claims or claims in environmental assessment to the 0.1 UTM rate with SERNAGEOMIN (Código de Minería art. 142 bis and 143).
6. Before the end of an exploration concession's fourth year, file the geological report or environmental evidence to extend it (Código de Minería art. 112).
7. Negotiate or sue for mining easements over surface land before building, posting a bond if you need early access (Código de Minería art. 120 to 125).

Common traps

Missing the March patent: the concession goes to judicial auction and, with no bidder, the ground becomes free for others (Código de Minería art. 146; Ley Nº 18.097 art. 18).
Expecting a refund of patents paid on claims later abandoned: there is none (Código de Minería art. 145).
Letting exploration lapse and refiling through a relative or employee: the law presumes this is a front and anyone can denounce it (Código de Minería art. 112 bis).
Starting work near roads, buildings, power lines or water intakes without the governor's permit: fines of up to 50 UTM, 100 on a repeat, and the judge can suspend the work (Código de Minería art. 17 and 18).
Treating a concession as permission to mine: environmental approval and sectoral permits are still required (see investing/project-permits-and-environmental-assessment).
Filing for lithium or hydrocarbons: they cannot be held under a concession (see sectors/lithium and sectors/oil-and-gas).

Sources

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