Chile Moves to Promote Mining Exploration and Foreign Investment

---

Written by Amir Richani for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

---

Summary

Chile is advancing policies to improve conditions for early-stage exploration and for junior mining companies by creating investment incentives, reducing costs, and cutting bureaucracy.

---

Chile's Proposals

The Chilean government is moving forward with two proposals to promote mining exploration and production in the country, as part of efforts to reduce costs in the sector and attract more investment.

First, the Chilean Senate approved in general on September 9 a bill simplifying the mining patent scheme and reducing the costs of holding inactive concessions. The Senate and the government will now have until September 28 to submit any amendments to the proposal.

The current law establishes a payment based on the Unidad Tributaria Mensual (UTM) per hectare that progressively increase with the age of the concession, from 0.4 UTM per hectare during the first five years to as much as 12 UTM from year 31 for companies that do not demonstrate qualifying mining work at their concessions.

For exploitation concessions, the new bill proposes a set annual rate of 0.1 UTM per hectare for active mining concessions and a fixed rate of 0.4 UTM per hectare for those that do not demonstrate qualifying mining work.

The measure seeks to reduce costs for mining concession holders and ease the procedures surrounding/for accessing the access to reduced patent rates.

This bill, said the Minister of Economy and Mining, Daniel Mas, "addresses an urgent need raised by small and medium-scale miners themselves to reverse measures that obstruct and hinder the development of our mining sector, particularly for those miners engaged in the foundational stages of exploration and extraction."

After September 28, the bill will continue its consideration by the Senate.

Mining Exploration

On September 9, the Chilean government also presented the new "Capital Markets" bill aimed at promoting economic activity and investment across multiple areas, including housing, financial services, savings, and more. The bill also proposes specific measures to support early mining exploration and attract foreign investment.

The bill seeks to tackle the high risks faced by junior mining companies during early exploration and ease their ability to obtain financing. Among the proposals are lowering the costs and regulatory requirements for companies seeking to access public capital markets.

More importantly, the new bill includes a 35% tax credit for investments in the junior mining segment, including mining explorers, as well as a mechanism to transfer greenfield exploration expenses to the investors who financed them for tax purposes.

According to the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco), Chile's mining exploration budget reached US$874 million in 2025, with only US$206 million allocated to initial/early-stage exploration.

The bill was sent for consideration to the Chamber of Deputies on September 9.

Promoting initial/early-stage exploration could allow Chile to increase its chances of making new greenfield discoveries, boost its reserves, find new resources to offset aging deposits and develop new assets.

Industrial Info Resources data show 125 grassroot mining projects in Chile, representing investments of US$25.09 billion.

"By integrating mineral exploration into the capital markets, we intelligently diversify risk and attract global and domestic investment funds seeking profitability and sustainability. It is a perfect formula: private capital assumes the initial risk, and once the deposit is discovered, the entire country benefits from a new source of employment, development, and royalty revenue," said Mas.

Key Takeaways

• The Senate is discussing a bill to reduce the costs of mining concessions that do not demonstrate qualifying work.
• The government sent to the Chamber of Deputies a bill to attract investments into early-stage exploration.
• Industrial Info Resources is tracking 125 grassroots mining projects in Chile worth US$25.09 billion.

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 Trillion (USD).