Havana, Aug 20 (RHC) – A legal tool that unifies up to now separate elements in Cuba's geological policy, Decree-Law 345, has been announced for enforcement beginning this week.

Enrique Castellanos, director for Geology at the Ministry of Energy and Mines, said during a press conference that the new regulatory framework introduced improves the organization of the work in the field of geology.

He said one of the most notable contributions of the new regulation is the creation of a National Geology Council that will have under its umbrella a dozen agencies that currently engage in geological studies.

The regulation provides that entities seeking to exploit mineral resources in Cuba will have to pay the state compensation for geological research done. It also defines key aspects connected to mineral mapping.

Such legal provisions, unprecedented in the Cuban geological field, become a relevant tool in the face of a notable increase in geological activity levels in the country, asserted Castellanos.

In 2019 alone, he explained, 26 mineral resources search and evaluation projects are planned for implementation, which will allow the Cuban state to obtain a varied supply of raw materials like limestone, sand, clay, marble and magnesite.