FINLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tarja Pirinen, Marius af Schultén, Fiiu Linninen and Konsta Peussa, Castrén & Snellman
development principles throughout their provisions. The Mining Act’s general principles expressly require sustainable resource use, avoidance of environmen - tal harms, and comprehensive exploitation and avoid - ance of waste of minerals in mining operations. The 2023 Government Programme seeks to address climate issues primarily through efficient emission- reduction approaches, expanding carbon sinks and innovative clean technologies that substitute solutions relying on polluting energy sources and materials both domestically and internationally. A key priority of the Energy and Climate Strategy involves accelerating emission reductions in industrial and energy produc - tion sectors. There are also plans to refresh industry- specific low-carbon roadmaps. Beyond government initiatives, the Finnish mining industry has established the Network for Sustainable Mining ( Kestävän kaivostoiminnan verkosto ), a volun - tary co-operation forum promoting responsible prac - tices. Companies committed to the Mining Respon - sibility System ( Kaivosvastuujärjestelmä , 2016) follow sustainable operating principles across the entire project lifecycle using eight assessment tools (see answer 3.1 Climate Change Effects ). In addition, the TSM (Towards Sustainable Mining) programme co- ordinated in Finland by the Finnish Mining Association provides a transparent and comparable framework for assessing environmental and social responsibility in the mining industry. Finnish operators can also report their responsible sourcing practices through the EU’s new Responsible Mineral Information System (ReMIS) platform, which enhances transparency and account - The EU Critical Raw Materials list which was updated in connection with the enactment of the EU’s Critical Raw Material Act (“CRMA”) includes several minerals produced in Finland, such as cobalt, nickel, lithium, platinum group metals and phosphate. In March 2025, six projects located in Finland were granted EU strate - gic project status, three of which were mining projects. The status of a strategic project granted with the Com - mission’s decision provides more efficient permitting processes and predictable permitting timelines for the ability across mineral supply chains. 3.4 Energy-Transition Minerals
crucial mining projects as set out in the CRMA and will further promote the development of the mineral sector in Finland. Fresh applications to obtain stra - tegic project status for new mining projects located in Finland were also submitted in the second call for strategic projects under the CRMA which ended in mid-January 2026. 4. Taxation of Mining and Exploration 4.1 Mining and Exploration Duties, Royalties and Taxes Mining Minerals Tax Finland introduced a special tax for mining companies on 1 January 2024 under the Mining Minerals Tax Act (314/2023). The Mining Minerals Tax Act was subse - quently amended by Act 1361/2025, which entered into force on 1 January 2026. The mining mineral tax functions as a royalty-type levy. The tax is payable by operators that extract mining minerals and hold the necessary mining permits. Fol - lowing the 2026 amendment, the secondary taxpayer for mining minerals is now the person who supplies the mining mineral for beneficiation or produces the mining mineral if the holder of the mining permit no longer exists. Operators must register before starting taxable operations. The 2026 amendment significantly increased tax rates: for metallic ores the tax rate rose from 0.6% to 2.5% of the taxable value of the metal content, whilst for industrial minerals, the tax rate increased from EUR 0.20 per tonne to EUR 0.60 per tonne of ore or useful stone. The taxable values for metallic ores are based on international daily market prices and are confirmed annually by the Finnish Tax Administration. The 2026 amendment also expanded the taxable base to include iron and rhodium, reflecting their increasing economic significance. Gold panning falls outside the scope of the tax. For metallic ores, the tax is assessed when the tax - payer first feeds the mined mineral into the concentra - tion process for the first time. The 2026 amendment changed the assessment point for industrial minerals: the tax is now assessed for industrial minerals when
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