New legislation provides that mining cooperatives shall have priority access to licences for artisanal mining, while credit cooperatives will be subject to supervision by the Bank of Mozambique (BdM) as financial institutions, according to information released on Wednesday, 19 August.
Under the new regulation approved by the government — which updates the General Law on Cooperatives of 2009 — mining cooperatives are defined as entities dedicated to the ‘discovery and exploitation of mineral resources’, encompassing activities of reconnaissance, prospecting, research, extraction, processing, and commercialisation of mining products.
One of the principal innovations is the granting of ‘priority access to Land Use and Exploitation Titles for Artisanal Mining Areas’ to mining cooperatives formed by small-scale operators or artisanal miners.
In return, the regulation establishes that the cooperative is ‘jointly and severally liable for the environmental rehabilitation of areas degraded by the activities of its members’. To that end, cooperatives must establish an environmental guarantee fund, as provided for in their respective statutes. The legislation also requires these cooperatives to comply with occupational health and safety standards applicable to the extractive sector, on pain of suspension of the benefits set out in the regulation.
In the financial sphere, the new regulatory framework establishes that credit cooperatives are ‘credit institutions’ intended to provide financial services to their members. Where cooperative legislation does not provide otherwise, these entities will be governed by the norms applicable to financial institutions as issued by the BdM.
Credit cooperatives may raise funds, extend credit, and provide guarantees in accordance with banking legislation, but these services are intended exclusively for cooperative members, without prejudice to operations conducted with other credit institutions and financial companies.
The legislation also permits these cooperatives to hold deposits at credit institutions, acquire public debt securities or monetary authority instruments, and maintain certain financial stakes authorised by the BdM.
A further amendment establishes that the incorporation of credit cooperatives, in addition to the standard registration requirements, is subject to special registration with the central bank, in accordance with legislation applicable to credit institutions and financial companies.
The regulation also introduces mandatory audits of the annual accounts of cooperatives that, in the preceding financial year, met or exceeded at least two of the following criteria: net turnover exceeding 2,500 minimum wages in the relevant sector; more than 500 members; or total assets above a threshold to be determined subsequently by ministerial order.
The programme bets on increasing local processing of agricultural, fisheries, forestry, and mining output, on integrating cooperatives into the supply chains of major national projects, and on strengthening local content through the procurement of goods and services produced by Mozambican cooperatives.
The audit obligation applies also, regardless of the cooperative’s size, to entities that operate with public funds or benefit from specific tax incentives.
The new rules form part of the government’s broader strategy for the cooperative sector. In July, the Council of Ministers approved the National Cooperative Development Programme (PNDC) 2026–46, which envisages the formalisation of ten thousand cooperatives, the integration of 1.5 million informal operators, and the creation of 500,000 direct and indirect jobs over the next two decades.
The programme also targets an increase in local processing of agricultural, fisheries, forestry, and mining production, the integration of cooperatives into the supply chains of major national projects, and the strengthening of local content through the procurement of goods and services produced by Mozambican cooperatives.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/08/19/oilgas/extractivas/cooperativas-mineiras-ganham-prioridade-no-acesso-a-mineracao-artesanal/
