Mining Law
Concessions, easements, closure plans for mining sites and facilities, and investment projects on indigenous lands and territories.
Mining Code · Law No. 20,551
Law firm · Copiapó, Atacama Region, Chile
Highly specialized defense, representation and legal strategy for mining and energy activities.
We advise and represent Chilean and foreign companies in mining, electricity, civil and administrative law.
We handle highly complex litigation before ordinary courts, arbitrations before the CAM, and oral arguments before the Courts of Appeals and the Supreme Court.
We prepare legal opinions (Informes en Derecho) of the highest standard.
Practice areas
What we advise on
Every matter is handled directly by the firm's lawyers, from the first analysis to the judgment, award or settlement.
Electricity Law
Advice and litigation for electricity companies, concessions, easements and supply contracts.
General Electricity Services Law
Civil Law
Contracts, contractual and non-contractual liability, and damages.
Civil Code
Administrative Law
Claims against the Chilean State, liability for faulty public service (falta de servicio) and challenges before administrative bodies, among others.
Law No. 18,575 · Law No. 19,880
Arbitration before the CAM
Representation in highly complex proceedings before the Arbitration and Mediation Center (CAM).
Domestic and international commercial arbitration
Oral argument before the Courts
Oral arguments before the Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeals in appeals, cassation and constitutional protection actions.
Supreme Court · Courts of Appeals
Outsourced General Counsel
We take on the company's legal function: contract review, regulatory compliance and coordination of litigation.
Chilean and foreign companies
Don't see your matter here?
We also handle other civil, administrative and regulatory matters. Tell us about your case.
How we work
A process you can follow
From the outset you will know what we are going to do, what it costs and what timeframes are reasonable for your case.
First meeting
We learn about the matter and review the company's background and documents.
Assessment
We explain your options, the risks of each, and how long they usually take in court or in arbitration.
Fee proposal
You receive the strategy in writing with a fixed or staged budget before signing the engagement.
Follow-up
We report every development in the case and answer your questions throughout the process.
Team
The firm's lawyers
Experience litigating before ordinary and arbitral tribunals and the courts of Chile.
María Karina Guggiana Varela
Senior Lawyer · PhD in Law, Universidad de Los Andes
She has extensive experience advising and litigating for foreign companies, particularly Chinese companies, in mining, electricity and port matters, defending their interests both in the ordinary courts and before the CAM. Since 2023 she has served as Abogada Integrante (associate member) of the Court of Appeals of Copiapó.
Academic and researcher in civil, administrative, mining, electricity and regulatory law. Permanent lecturer of the course «Servidumbres mineras y acciones posesorias» (Mining easements and possessory actions) in the Diploma in Natural Resources, Mining Law track, at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Postgraduate studies
- 2025PhD in Law, Universidad de Los Andes (Summa Cum Laude)
- 2022Master's in Legal Research, Universidad de Los Andes
- 2015Master's in Mining Law, Universidad de Atacama
- 2013Master's in Closure Plans for Mining Sites and Facilities, Escuela Europea de Negocios
- 2026Corso di alta formazione in Diritto Romano, Sapienza Università d'Italia
- 2026Diploma in Legal Innovation, AI and Emerging Technologies, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
- 2021Diploma in Civil Liability, Universidad de Los Andes
- 2019Diploma in Environmental Law, Universidad de Los Andes
- 2011Specialization Diploma in Implementing Mining Investment Projects on Indigenous Lands and Territories, Universidad Central
Languages
Spanish, Italian and English
Adolfo Matías Rivera Galleguillos
Senior Lawyer · Universidad de Chile
He served as Procurador Fiscal (head state attorney) for Copiapó at the State Defense Council (Consejo de Defensa del Estado) from 1992 to 2024, and as Abogado Integrante (associate member) of the Court of Appeals of Copiapó.
Career
- 1992–2024Procurador Fiscal for Copiapó, State Defense Council
- —Former Abogado Integrante, Court of Appeals of Copiapó
- 1982Traineeship at the École Nationale de la Magistrature, Paris, France
Languages
Spanish and French
Official translators
- ItalianFilomena Surgo
- Mandarin ChineseKuocheng Chiu
Publications
Books and articles
Books, articles and columns by Dr. María Karina Guggiana Varela, PhD in Law.
Books
- 2026
La Compensación por Sacrificio en las Servidumbres Legales Mineras
Tirant Lo Blanch · In press · Coming soon
- 2016
Fragilidad de los Derechos Mineros en Chile. Análisis Dogmático. Estudios de casos
Ius Civile, Santiago, Chile, July 2016 · 130 pages
Articles
- 2027
«A propósito de las servidumbres mineras transnacionales en el Tratado de Integración y Complementación Minera entre Chile y Argentina: un régimen de aplicación problemática»
Anuario Iberoamericano de Derecho Minero (2027), Universidad Externado de Colombia · In press
- 2026
«Sobre el plazo de duración de la servidumbre minera y su relación con la vida útil del proyecto. Comentario a la sentencia de la Corte Suprema, Rol N° 20.239-2024, de 31 de julio de 2026»
Revista de Derecho Administrativo No. 44-2026, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile · In press
- 2026
«Actio servitutis y su aplicación en las servidumbres legales mineras»
Revista de Derecho Administrativo No. 43-2026, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile · Read article
- 2025
«Ciertas inquietudes interpretativas derivadas del artículo 26 de la Ley de Cierre de Faenas e Instalaciones Mineras»
Revista de Derecho Administrativo No. 41-2025, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile · Read article
- 2024
«Acerca del requisito de la utilidad y del principio romano civiliter uti en su aplicación al ejercicio de las servidumbres mineras en Chile»
Roma e America. Diritto romano comune, Rome, Italy, Sapienza University (2-2024) · Read article
- 2024
«Necesaria objetivación de los criterios mínimos para la constitución de servidumbres legales mineras»
Revista de Derecho Administrativo No. 39-2024, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile · Read article
- 2023
«Determinación anticipada de la vida útil del proyecto minero como esencial para la fijación de los límites temporales de la servidumbre legal minera y la cuantificación de las indemnizaciones a que tendrá derecho el propietario del predio sirviente»
Revista de Derecho Universidad Católica del Norte, No. 30 (2023) · Read article
- 2022
«Algunas críticas al procedimiento judicial de constitución de servidumbres mineras, en particular respecto de la servidumbre minera provisoria y los efectos procesales nocivos de una expresión de tutela jurisdiccional anticipada»
Revista Jurídica Digital UANDES 6/1 (2022), pp. 22-36 · Read article
Opinion columns
- 2026
«Hacia una necesaria redefinición de pequeña minería y minería artesanal: a propósito de las leyes N° 21.420 y N° 21.649, y del proyecto de reforma contenido en el Boletín N° 18.259-08»
El Mercurio Legal, September 7, 2026 · Read column
- 2023
«La actividad del pirquinero en su calidad de patrimonio cultural intangible nacional»
Revista Minera El Crisol, August 2023, Mining Month special issue · Read article
Works cited in case law
- 2026
Supreme Court of Chile, case No. 20,239-2024, judgment of July 31, 2026
Work cited: «Determinación anticipada de la vida útil del proyecto minero como esencial para la fijación de los límites temporales de la servidumbre legal minera y la cuantificación de las indemnizaciones a que tendrá derecho el propietario del predio sirviente»
Revista de Derecho Universidad Católica del Norte, No. 30 (2023) · Read article
- 2023
Constitutional Court of Chile, case Nos. 13382-22, 13386-22 and 13390-22, judgments of July 5, 2023, recital 13
Work cited: «Determinación anticipada de la vida útil del proyecto minero como esencial para la fijación de los límites temporales de la servidumbre legal minera y la cuantificación de las indemnizaciones a que tendrá derecho el propietario del predio sirviente»
Revista de Derecho Universidad Católica del Norte, No. 30 (2023) · Read article
Firm news
Latest news
- 2026
Speaker at the 20th Mining Law Conference (XX Jornadas de Derecho de Minería)
María Karina Guggiana Varela presented the paper «Sobre las servidumbres mineras y la (in)aplicabilidad de la prescripción adquisitiva en su caso» (On mining easements and the (in)applicability of acquisitive prescription), representing the Court of Appeals of Copiapó, Universidad de Los Andes and the Pontificia Universidad Católica.
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and Universidad de Chile, October 2026
- 2026
Copiapó lawyer urges the Senate Mining Committee to redefine small-scale and artisanal mining
María Karina Guggiana Varela presented to the committee her proposal to redefine small-scale and artisanal mining.
Revista Minera El Crisol, August 24, 2026 · Read the story
Iustitia est constans et perpetua voluntas ius suum cuique tribuendi.
“Justice is the constant and perpetual will to render to each his due.”
Ulpian · Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 58, a. 1Contact
Talk to the firm
Tell us briefly about the matter and we will get back to you to arrange a meeting.
- Address
- Edificio Valle de Copiapó
Colipí 570, office 504
Copiapó, Atacama Region, Chile - contacto@guggianarivera.cl