Royal Decree No. 19/2019 promulgating the Mineral Wealth Law.

This Law consisting of 70 articles aims at (i) providing a framework for the mining sector intended to provide more incentives and transparency; (ii) strengthening the role of the Public Authority for Mining (PAM) and clearly outlining its competencies; (iii) protecting the interests of local communities, giving priority to the local employment; (iv) protecting the environment; and (v) enforcing the investment commitments. The Law stipulates that all mineral resources, quarry materials and other related mineral wealth within Omani territorial limits, including Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf areas, are the property of the State, and recognizes the PAM as the competent mining authority.
Main powers of the PAM are as follows (i) regulatory and supervisory powers; (ii) the right to issue exploration, prospecting and exploitation licences and mining concessions; (iii) to conduct inspections of mining activities; (iv) to ensure compliance by the licence holder with the terms of the licence and enforcement powers in the event of any non-compliance; (v) to seize private property from land owners if there is a belief that the property may contain significant mineral wealth that may be of benefit to the national economy; (vi) to terminate the licence if the licence holder fails to conduct the licensed activities or fails to pay amounts due to the government or transfers its licence without approval.
Licences for exploration and prospecting may be granted for one year, renewable up to three years. The licence period for exploitation is up to five years, renewable for additional similar periods. Concession agreements for large deposits may be granted for periods between 20 and 30 years. License holders have reporting obligations to the PAM, such as submission of monthly reports on extraction, inventory and sales, and quarterly reports on employees, processing, development and operations. It is strictly prohibited to carry out any mining activities without having a licence issued by PAM. Person carrying out mining activities without a licence are subject to penalties and confiscation of any produced minerals.
To incentive investments, the Law establishes flexible royalty and rent payments related to the economics of the project: a minimum of 5% of the annual output of their mining activities in royalties; rent payments to be determined by PAM; a financial guarantee amounting to 1% of the value of the budget allocated by the licence holder for their exploration and mining operations; and a contribution of 1% of the value of the annual output of its mining activities to support the local community in the area surrounding the relevant site.
To protect the environment (i) art.26 states that the licensee shall take all measures to ensure full compliance with the conditions of safety and public health and the requirements of environmental protection; (ii) art.34 establishes that the licensee shall, at the expiry of the license or its cancellation, rehabilitate the area of the license and remove the waste and the malfunctions at its expense, in accordance with the requirements of preserving the environment; (iii) art.51 provides for the respect by the concessionaire for the conditions of safety and public health, and the requirements of environmental protection; (iv) art.53 deals with the responsibilities of the concessionaire for damage to properties, public health or the environment as a result of the work or resulting from negligence; and (v) art.55 recognizes PAM's right to enter any place of the concession to review the progress and efficiency of the work and evaluate the measures taken to ensure its safety and the absence of negative effects on the environment or cause damage to public or private property.