With the vote of 52 of 82 deputies attending the session, Uruguay’s lower chamber of Parliament approved a large-scale mining bill proposed by the ruling government on Tuesday Sept. 3.
The bill, which was submitted to Parliament by the executive branch in November 2012, incorporates a chapter setting out a regulatory framework for the closing of mining operations.
An Inter-Generational Investment Trust created through this initiative will be managed by Uruguay’s Central Bank.
Revenues will be allocated to Uruguay’s Trust for the Development of the Interior. These moneys will be made available to those municipalities concerned with infrastructure and development works to be carried out in the proximity of mining sites.
Another portion of funds will be allotted to national production and development projects, and to educational development projects primarily in Uruguay’s Interior, in addition to the strengthening of Uruguay’s regulatory bodies in the mining sector.
