Comprehensive Regulation on the Seizure, Confiscation, Management, Delivery, Disposal, Destruction, Neutralization, and/or Demolition of Equipment, Goods, Inputs, Machinery, and Vehicles Used in Illegal Mining Activities; as well as the Mineralized Material Obtained Therefrom.
The Mining Regulation and Control Agency (ARCOM), through Resolution No. ARCOM-009/25 dated October 29, 2025 —published in the Sixth Supplement of the Official Registry No. 158 on November 6, 2025—, issued the guidelines governing the “seizure, confiscation, management, delivery, disposal, destruction, neutralization, and/or demolition of equipment, goods, inputs, machinery, and vehicles used in illegal mining activities, as well as the mineralized material derived therefrom.”
Below is a clear and concise summary of the most relevant aspects of this resolution:
- Main Procedures (Grouped into Three Categories):
1) Assets destroyed, neutralized, or rendered unusable on site: This applies when the assets are not near accessible roads, external factors prevent their removal, they have already been neutralized, there are no qualified operators available, or there is no storage warehouse.
The reason must be recorded in the report prepared by the ARCOM official present at the operation, inspection, or control.
Action must be taken immediately, according to the complexity, risk, or severity, as provided in Article 99 of the Mining Law Regulation.
2) Seized machinery, vehicles, and equipment: These will be delivered immediately to the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works (MIT) or to Decentralized Autonomous Governments (GADs), in accordance with the First General Provision of the Organic Law for Financial Relief and Economic Strengthening of Ecuadorian Generations, following ARCOM’s internal registration procedure for assets linked to illegal mining.
3) Seized or abandoned mineralized material: The respective ARCOM District Director will be the official custodian and will be responsible for receiving, verifying, registering, securing, inventory control, and delivering the material.
Upon receipt at ARCOM facilities, an intake record will be prepared (for seizure or abandonment cases) or a delivery/receipt record (when ordered by a judicial authority), using the official formats to be issued.
Inventory control during the resolution process will be maintained using the format established by the Administrative-Financial Coordination. Once the seizure or abandonment is resolved (administratively or judicially), the District Director will have 10 days to submit the supporting documentation to ARCOM’s Administrative-Financial Coordination so that the Assets Unit can verify compliance and proceed with the accounting entry and registration of the mineralized material.
- Priority Order for the Immediate Delivery of Seized Machinery, Vehicles, and Equipment:
1) Priority 1: Ministry of Transportation and Public Works (MIT): When geographically close, the assets can be used for road maintenance on the state network (especially access roads to mining, rural, or hard-to-reach areas), and MIT has the technical and operational capacity for custody and proper use.
2) Priority 2: Provincial GAD: If MIT does not require the assets (with technical justification), delivery will go to the corresponding provincial GAD, provided proximity exists, the asset will be used for provincial road maintenance (prioritizing productive or rural areas), the GAD has capacity, and it signs a receipt record and a custody agreement assuming responsibility for maintenance and proper use.
3) Priority 3: Cantonal GAD: If the provincial GAD cannot receive or use the assets, delivery will go to the cantonal GAD of the seizure location, under the same conditions (proximity, exclusive use for cantonal roads, technical capacity, receipt record, and custody agreement).
4) Priority 4: Nearest city GAD: As a last resort, delivery may go to the GAD of the nearest city, subject to the same operational and contractual requirements.
- Procedure for Immediate Delivery of Seized Machinery, Vehicles, and Equipment:
1) ARCOM completes internal registration and issues the seizure/confiscation resolution or record.
2) ARCOM notifies MIT of the availability of the asset and lifts any precautionary measures if applicable.
3) MIT (or the corresponding GAD) evaluates feasibility and confirms acceptance.
4) The receiving entity temporarily custodies the asset, uses it exclusively for road maintenance, assumes responsibility for care and upkeep, and reports semi-annually on its condition and use.
5) The entity must return the asset immediately if requested by ARCOM.
The same basic steps apply, in order of priority, to the corresponding GADs.
- Procedure for the Intake, Registration, Delivery, and Transfer of Mineralized Material:
1) The following original documents must be submitted: a) Intake record or delivery/receipt record of the material at the ARCOM District warehouse. b) Administrative resolution of seizure, confiscation, and/or abandonment (or final judicial order/sentence). c) Original valuation performed by the ARCOM District Directorate based on the assay report issued by the Geological and Energy Research Institute (IIGE) – costs borne by ARCOM.
2) With these documents, ARCOM’s Accounting Unit (Administrative-Financial Coordination) records the asset in the entity’s accounts and in the ESIGEF system.
3) The National Maximum Authority or the respective District Director issues the administrative act ordering delivery of the material to the National Mining Company ENAMI EP, and ENAMI EP is formally notified.
4) Physical delivery is formalized through a delivery-receipt record signed by the ARCOM District Director and ENAMI EP’s General Manager (or delegate).
5) A copy of the delivery-receipt record and the certified copy of the administrative act are sent to ARCOM’s Administrative-Financial Coordination to proceed with the accounting write-off.
- Final Implementation Deadlines (30 days from publication), ARCOM must:
a) In coordination with MIT, prepare (i) a list of machinery, vehicles, and equipment used exclusively for mining activities, and (ii) an official registry for field control.
b) Through its Administrative-Financial Coordination, design and approve the official inventory control form for mineralized material while its legal status is being resolved.
c) Design and approve the official model for the mineralized material delivery-receipt record.
If you have any questions about how this regulation may affect your operations, we are here to help! At LASPINA LEGAL, our team of professionals with extensive experience in the Ecuadorian mining sector will provide you with expert, personalized guidance on all your projects.