Natural Resources Law No. 19 of 2018.

This Law consisting of 39 articles aims at natural resources development, together with their sustainable exploitation, and to regulate mining activities. The Law establishes that (i) natural resources are considered property of the State, whether they are on the surface of the earth or in its interior, or in territorial waters, rivers, and inland seas; (ii) it is not permissible to explore, exploit, transfer or trade in natural resources without obtaining a permit or license; (iii) any activities of survey, exploration and exploitation of petroleum, oil shale, coal and strategic minerals shall be conducted in accordance with a Regulation issued for this purpose; (iv) mining is considered a public interest and no survey permit, exploration license or mining right may be granted for Governmental, private or Waqf land unless approved by their owners or by whom authorized on land use (art.12 gives details of related procedures); (v) prior approval and supervision of the related authorities is requested to survey, explore or mine within holy places or antiquity sites, railway lands, municipal areas, and reservoirs, oil and sewage pipelines lands; (vi) it is impermissible for the licensee to possess or obtain water from any lake or sea or river or stream or water passage or dam or underground reservoir or a canal abutting any spot within the license or permit area or passing by it or to divert it from its course without prior approval.
Main powers of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources with regard to natural resources are as follows (i) set the general policy for their development and exploitation, and submit it to the Council of Ministers for approval; (ii) conduct research and studies on their exploration and geological surveys; (iii) set policies for optimal utilization and promoting their exploitation locally and internationally; (iv) determine, establish, supervise, and promote geological reserves locally and internationally; and (v) monitor seismic activity and conduct the necessary seismic studies to mitigate the effects of earthquake risks (art.3). The Ministry also (i) define the appropriate geographical locations in which the investment potentials in the exploitation of petroleum, oil shale, coal, and strategic minerals are proven (art.7);
While the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission (EMRC) has the following tasks (i) (i) issuing permits and licenses to practice investigation, exploration, or exploitation of natural resources or their derivatives; (ii) granting discovery certificates; (iii) inspection and control of mining operations, and exploitation of natural ores; (iv) setting the requirements to implement the environmental and public safety conditions to be met in mining operations and exploiting natural resources; (v) ensure that the authorized person or the licensee adheres to the conditions stated in the permit or license and with any other legal requirements; and (vi) participation in laying the foundations for the import and export of minerals (art.4). The details on the different permits, prerogative of the Board of Commissioners, are specified in art.5.
Articles dealing with mining activities (permits, discovery of minerals, fees, mining areas, duties of mining license holder, licensee's reports to the Commission, among other issues), are 14 to 34.