Agreement INHGEOMIN 88-2024

This agreement creates SIGEM, a digital platform that allows municipalities to communicate with the mining authority to manage small-scale and artisanal mining permits electronically. It also approves a unified manual (DUMAPE) with procedures and forms, requires municipalities to submit annual reports by February 27th, and publishes public mining statistics for greater transparency and efficiency.

Whereas, by means of Legislative Decree No. 238-2012 dated January 23, 2013 and published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta on April 2, 2013, the General Mining Law was approved, and by means of Executive Agreement No. 042-2013 dated August 2, 2013 published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta on September 4, 2013, the Regulations of the General Mining Law were approved, thereby creating the Honduran Institute of Geology and Mines "INHGEOMIN", as the Mining Authority at the national level empowered to regulate mining activity, grant mining rights, oversee their exercise, consolidate their registry, maintaining an updated database of mineral resources in the country accessible to interested parties; it being additionally incumbent upon it to certify the quality and quantity of mineral resources prior to their export through the various Customs offices of the Country, which serves as the basis for calculating national and municipal taxes.

Whereas by means of AGREEMENT No. 126-2023, the Constitutional President of the Republic appointed citizen CARLOS MAURICIO MARADIAGA ROBLES to the position of Executive Director of the Honduran Institute of Geology and Mines, effective as of May eighth, two thousand twenty-three.

Whereas the State of Honduras exercises eminent, inalienable, and imprescriptible dominion over mineral resources found in its territory and regulates their technical and rational exploitation by private parties through concessions or permits that it grants through the Honduran Institute of Geology and Mines "INHGEOMIN".

Whereas Article 5 of the Administrative Simplification Law establishes that, "Every State body must have the appropriate mechanisms or instruments to inform the public about: 1) The different procedures and transactions conducted in its offices, as well as forms and instructions necessary to process said procedures".

Whereas Article 6 of the Administrative Simplification Law establishes that, "Every State body has the obligation to continuously conduct diagnoses and analyses of the different administrative procedures and processes that must be followed in its offices, in order to design simplification measures which must be adopted in accordance with the objectives of the present Law".

Whereas Article 5 of the Electronic Government Regulations establishes the following principles: "1) ... 2) Principle of Technological Adequacy: The public administration must promote the standardized use of information and communications technologies among the departments, Deconcentrated Bodies, decentralized bodies, Political-Administrative Bodies, Autonomous Entities, Municipalities and other entities of the Public Administration and private law organisms auxiliary to the Public Administration that provide services as associated centers and of the citizenry. 3) ... 4) ... 5) ... 6) ... 7) Principle of Economy: The Public Administration must privilege the use of those tools that ensure greater savings of time and costs for both users and the Public Administration".

Whereas Article 7 of the Electronic Government Regulations establishes the following rights: "1), 2), 3), 4) Right to relate digitally with the State: Any natural or legal person has the right to manage procedures and services by electronic means before the bodies of the Public Administration".

Whereas Article 3 of the General Mining Law establishes that, the State guarantees that mining procedures respond to the principles of legality, transparency, certainty, simplicity, publicity, uniformity, efficiency, citizen participation, simultaneity, and sustainability.

Whereas Article 94 of the General Mining Law establishes that, municipalities have the following obligations: a) Maintain an updated registry of artisanal miners; b) Submit annually to the Mining Authority the registry of artisanal mining permits granted; c); d); e); f); g).

Whereas Article 5 of the Special Regulations for Artisanal Mining and Small-Scale Mining establishes that, "The Mining Authority is empowered to grant Permits for Small-Scale Mining, metallic and precious gems or stones and in the case of small-scale non-metallic mining, its granting corresponds to the Municipal Authority".

Whereas Article 7 of the Special Regulations for Artisanal Mining and Small-Scale Mining establishes that, "The Municipality must communicate to INHGEOMIN the mining rights granted annually, with the objective of making the final annotation through the Mining and Cadastral Registry Unit. Once registered, the Mining Inspection Unit will be notified with the objective of recording the corresponding payments".

Whereas Article 88 of the General Mining Law establishes that "It corresponds to the Mining Authority to promote, develop, evaluate, and follow up through institutional programs and actions, the rational and responsible exploitation of mineral resources conducted by Small-Scale Mining and Artisanal Mining".

Whereas Article 101 of the General Mining Law establishes that the following are attributions of the Executive Director: "a) ... b) ... c) ... d) Approve Technical Manuals and Instructions for the implementation of the General Mining Law, e) ... f) ... g) Execute, coordinate, supervise, and evaluate the execution of mining policy; h) ... i) ... j) ... k) ...".

Whereas the acts of the Public Administration shall adopt the form of Decrees, Agreements, Resolutions, or Pronouncements.

Whereas Agreements, Resolutions, and Pronouncements shall be signed by the head of the body that issues them and authorized by the official indicated by the legal provisions.

Whereas Article 118 of the General Law of Public Administration establishes that. "Agreements shall be issued for particular decisions taken outside of procedures in which private parties intervene as interested parties; and, acts of a general nature issued in the exercise of regulatory authority. The motivation of these acts shall be preceded by the designation of the authority that issues them and followed by the formula "AGREES".