Reworked 2026 draft aims to modernise a 30-year-old law, strengthen transparency and balance economic gains with environmental and community safeguards amid fresh mineral discoveries.

More than five years after it disappeared from the legislative agenda without a formal vote, Bhutan’s Mines and Minerals Management Bill is poised to return to Parliament during the winter session. The Department of Geology and Mines (DGM) under the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources has submitted a revised draft – the Mines and Minerals Management Bill of Bhutan 2026 – to the Cabinet. Officials say the new version addresses earlier sticking points, particularly around strategic minerals, while aligning with the Mineral Development Policy 2017 and the country’s broader economic transformation goals.

The bill is intended to replace the Mines and Minerals Management Act of 1995, a law widely viewed as outdated for today’s economy, technology and sustainability standards. The DGM has framed the redraft as a substantive strengthening of the legal framework rather than a simple revision, drawing on the Mineral Exploration Guidelines 2023 and the Mines and Minerals Management Regulations 2022. It emphasises strategic mineral development, investment security, value addition, environmental stewardship and equitable socio-economic benefit-sharing.

Constitutional Questions Linger from 2021 Deferral

The original bill, introduced around 2019-2020, was deferred in June 2021 after a Joint Committee failed to reach consensus following six meetings. The speaker invoked parliamentary procedural rules, but critics have long questioned whether this was consistent with Article 13(8) of Bhutan’s Constitution, which appears to require submission to the Druk Gyalpo for a joint sitting and vote when the two houses cannot agree. Neither the DGM nor the Prime Minister’s Office has directly addressed the constitutional basis for the deferment, describing it instead as an internal parliamentary process driven by the need for broader consensus.

In the intervening years the government has relied on the 1995 Act and subordinate regulations. The Mines and Minerals Management Regulations 2022 updated leasing procedures, royalty and rent provisions, environmental standards, occupational health and safety requirements, and corporate social responsibility obligations. A two-lease limit per household or individual aims to prevent concentration of ownership, while strategic minerals such as gypsum, dolomite and coal have been allocated primarily to the State Mining Corporation Limited. Surface Collection Rules and Regulations 2024 further govern sand, stone and boulder extraction.

Bridging Policy Gaps and International Assessments

An independent Mining Policy Framework Assessment by the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development, published in March 2025, highlighted both strengths and weaknesses in Bhutan’s framework. The country scores well on environmental protections for forests, water and pollution control, and on clear institutional roles. Yet the assessment noted a fragmented legal base that needs updating, an onerous multi-agency clearance process, weak monitoring capacity, inadequate public participation in permitting, and limited formal community consultation and benefit-sharing mechanisms throughout the mine life cycle.

The DGM has responded that restoration is already required under existing law, lease agreements and the Mines Restoration Guidelines 2021, backed by an Environmental Restoration Bond. Officials also point to local government consultation processes through gewog and dzongkhag bodies. The new bill is expected to tighten these areas, introduce clearer progressive penalties, improve transparency in allocation (including competitive bidding for proven reserves), and strengthen post-mining transition requirements.

Fresh Geological Knowledge Raises Stakes

The timing coincides with the completion of Bhutan’s first nationwide airborne geophysical survey. Interpretation of the data has identified areas favourable for minerals, including indications of copper, tungsten and geothermal potential across previously unmapped terrain. The government has stressed that knowledge is not the same as a decision to extract. Any future development, the Prime Minister and DGM have said, will be guided by Gross National Happiness principles, environmental commitments and a public process only when required and when the national framework is ready.

Mining has been identified as one of the “five jewels” of the economy. The reworked bill is linked by the Prime Minister’s Office to the 10X Economic Roadmap and Diamond Strategy. Officials argue that legislation must remain dynamic to support economic transformation while preventing wealth concentration, in line with constitutional principles that mineral resources vest in the State and that the State should minimise income inequalities.

Balancing State Control, Private Participation and Equity

Debate continues over the appropriate mix of state and private involvement. Earlier versions of the bill sparked discussion about the degree of nationalisation or preferential allocation to state entities for strategic minerals. Opposition voices have emphasised broad-based ownership, greater transparency and fair distribution of benefits rather than concentration among a few operators. The government maintains that current regulations already limit private holdings and that state mining enterprises play a growing role. Independent verification of ownership lists has been limited.

The bill is also expected to clarify consent and clearance requirements for prospecting and exploration on private land, classification of minerals, short-term and artisanal mining, and benefit-sharing schemes that give affected communities priority opportunities such as equity stakes. Offences and penalties provisions will be strengthened to deter illegal mining, under-invoicing and operations outside approved areas.

Path Ahead for the Winter Session

With the draft now before the cabinet, the government is expected to table the bill in the winter session. Lawmakers from both sides have indicated support for revisiting the legislation, provided concerns from the 2020–2021 process are addressed through open deliberation and stakeholder consultation. The DGM describes the intervening period not as inactivity but as regulatory strengthening that avoided a legislative vacuum while a more comprehensive law was prepared.

If enacted, the Mines and Minerals Management Bill 2026 would mark the most significant overhaul of Bhutan’s mineral governance in three decades. It arrives at a moment when better geological knowledge, rising economic ambitions and persistent questions of equity and environmental integrity all demand a clearer, more modern legal foundation.