Mining Investment Law approved by Resolution No.216 of 2004 issued by Royal decree No. M/47 of 2004.

This Law consisting of 72 articles provides for the extraction of all natural mineral deposits including quarry raw materials. It includes the State’s land territory, inland waters, territorial sea, exclusive economic zone, continental shelf as well as its onshore and offshore territory. Excluded from the provisions of this Law are: (i) petroleum, natural gas and derivatives; (ii) pearls, corals and similar organic marine substances. Responsible body for supervising and applying the Law is the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. License issued by the Ministry are necessary for the following: reconnaissance; exploration; material collection; and exploitation, the latter divided into: mining; raw material quarry; small mine; and building materials quarry. Article 8 deals with the areas excluded from the application of the Law, either land or maritime areas.
Between the powers of the Ministry there is: designate any land or maritime area as a mineral reserve, specifying the activities not allowed; establish the Register of Applications and the Register of Licenses; inspect and monitor through its representatives the area covered by a license granted; cease or suspend any operation, the use of any equipment, or the exercise of any activity within an area covered by a license granted; terminate a license before its expiration, as provided in article 20. Article 27 deals with environmental protection measures to be met by the holder of a mining license, a raw quarry license or small mine license.
Specific chapters are dedicated to the various licenses, specifying duration, renewal or extension, rights and obligations and issuance procedures. Articles 51 and 52 provide for method of determining mineral value, while art.53 deals with the exemption from customs duties for all equipment necessary for the execution of any licensed project. The Appendix lists the fees for the license issuance and related matters.