The new Mining Law, Law 9/ 2006, came into effect on 3rd November 2006. Exploration Licence Contracts permit areas up to 500km2 (or 1,000km2 for diamond exploration) to be explored for up to 4 years. The explorer may also opt for registration of smaller Prospect Areas (up to 250km2) to permit detailed evaluation of individual prospects, annually renewable up to 3 years. Exploitation Licences will be granted upon submission of a mining programme that must include environmental management strategies. Copies of Law 9/ 2006 in Spanish (original - 2.1 MB) and English (translation - 136 KB) are available for download as PDF files.