The dissolution of state ownership over mines and the current publicization of mineral wealth in rerum natura: The collapse of traditional theses

Abstract

This contribution offers a synthesis of the traditional theories on the legal nature of mines that have dominated Chilean legal doctrine, their potential decline, and the need for a renewed conceptual explanation following the enactment of the 1980 Constitution and the mining legal regime that emerged thereafter. According to the author, this regulatory activity amounted to the publicization of mines, intended to establish administrative functions and thereby enable private individuals to freely access mineral wealth. Finally, the article discusses recent developments in Chilean scholarship, while engaging with contemporary Colombian and Spanish doctrinal approaches on the legal nature of minerals.