Approval of the New Mining Law

The New Mining Law eliminates the Mining Certificate and the Mining Pass provided for in the framework now revoked, replacing them with the Small-Scale Mining Licence and the Artisanal Mining Licence, each with its own simplified regime tailored to the realities of small-scale and artisanal mining.

Through this reform, the National Mining Company (ENM) was created as a State-owned enterprise of a corporate nature, as representative of the State in this domain, providing for the State's participation in all phases of the mineral resources value chain to be at least of 15%, on a free carry basis, non-dilutable and at no cost to the State, thereby structurally reinforcing the public presence in the sector.

The just compensation regime was amended by removing the memorandum of understanding as a prerequisite for the granting of mining exploitation rights. Compensation must now be formalised through a binding agreement between the mining titleholder and the holder of the pre-existing right or the affected local community. The Government retains responsibility for ensuring the best terms in favour of the community. The memorandum of understanding is now treated as a contractual element, and no longer as an autonomous condition for compensation.

The requirements applicable to mining titleholders have been strengthened. While maintaining the obligation for entities to be incorporated and registered in Mozambique, the new regime now requires that foreign legal entities controlling holders of mining rights be established in jurisdictions considered transparent and submit a declaration of beneficial ownership, with a view to ensuring greater transparency in the ownership and control structure of mining projects.

The licensing process is modernised under the new law, providing that applications for mining titles may be submitted electronically through the Mozambique Mining Cadastre Portal, without prejudice to submission through physical means, in a move designed to enhance the transparency and traceability of procedures.

Local development is reinforced by establishing that 10% of the tax revenues from the Mining Production Tax are allocated to the provinces, districts and communities where the mining projects are located, with this percentage to be managed through a specific Fund, with management rules to be approved by the Council of Ministers and increased obligations to publish the amounts transferred to each province, district and local community, as well as the implementation reports for the projects financed.

The National Mining Institute (INAMI) was restructured and transformed into the Mines Regulatory Authority (AREMI), which becomes the regulatory entity for mining activities, responsible for licensing, regulating, supervising and controlling the sector, promoting small-scale and artisanal mining and implementing local content strategies, being financed through its own revenues, without prejudice to the rules of financial administration of the State.

In pursuit of the industrialisation agenda, the Council of Ministers must guarantee that no less than 20% of minerals produced in the national territory is allocated to the domestic market, in order to meet domestic consumption needs. The law further establishes that extracted mineral resources must, as a rule, be processed in Mozambique, under terms to be regulated, with the effect of restricting the export of unprocessed mineral products.

In addition to the public tender mechanism for the award of mining rights, a public auction mechanism has been introduced for certain areas. The auction may be cancelled or annulled by the Minister responsible for mineral resources, upon proposal of AREMI, in cases of irregularities, absence of valid bids, or for reasons of public interest.

The State’s right to renegotiate mining contracts has been enshrined, applicable whenever there are substantial changes in economic, financial, environmental, technological or legal conditions, or in reference market prices, that compromise the economic and financial balance originally agreed, or in the event of extraordinary gains, which strengthens the ability to adapt the contractual framework to significant changes in context.

For the first time in Mozambican mining legislation, the concept of a mineral resources value chain is introduced, encompassing prospecting and exploration, extraction, processing and beneficiation, value addition, transport and storage, technological development, industrial clusters and logistics platforms, domestic trade, and export of mineral products, steering mining policy towards maximising in-country transformation and added value.

A specific legal regime for mining in the maritime space (maritime inland waters, territorial sea, continental shelf and exclusive economic zone) has been introduced, providing that rights are to be awarded through public tender, preceded by opinions from the ministries responsible for the sea, inland waters and environment, and requiring compliance with the relevant international instruments applicable to marine areas under Mozambican jurisdiction.

A specific regime for the assignment of mining rights is now established, making assignments subject to the payment of fees and evidence of the assignee’s technical, financial and operational qualifications, while preserving the joint and several liability of the original titleholder, reinforcing control over changes in the operation of mining projects and the continuity of obligations towards the State.

Express human rights obligations are now enshrined in the mining legal framework, requiring mining titleholders to submit periodic reports on human rights compliance and to accept monitoring in mining areas, integrating these issues into the core of operational duties and corporate social responsibility obligations.

Titleholders may now create a pledge over mining rights and assets allocated to the project, as collateral for financing, expansion or the introduction of new technologies, without loss of possession or title over the encumbered rights, facilitating access to structured financing, subject to the authorisations and limits set out in the regime.

Specific rules for insolvency situations in the mining sector are now in force, providing that creditors’ rights are to be dealt with under the applicable insolvency legislation and that stepping into the mining titleholder's rights by a creditor may only occur upon a final and unappealable court decision and provided that the substantive requirements set out in the Mining Law itself are met, reinforcing legal certainty in the management of projects facing financial difficulty.

This law entered into force on 3 June 2026.