FINLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tarja Pirinen, Fiiu Linninen, Teija Lius and Marko Koski, HPP Attorneys Ltd
1. Mining Law: General Framework 1.1 Main Features of the Mining Industry Finland has a strong mineral cluster, which in addition to mining of minerals also has a high capacity for refining and further processing. In addition, Finland is a producer of high-quality mining technology. According to the 2023 sector report on the mining industry published by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, in 2022, a total of 33.2 million tonnes of ore was extracted from Finland’s nine metallic mineral mines (eg, gold, chrome, copper, nickel, zinc, cobalt and silver), and 16.3 million tonnes of industrial mineral ore was extracted from the 26 industrial mineral mines (eg, calcite, dolomite, apatite, talc and quartz). 1.2 Legal System and Sources of Mining Law The legal system in Finland is based on civil law, and mining operations are regulated both at a national and an EU-law level. Exploration and mining operations are regulated by the Mining Act (No 621/2011, kaivoslaki ), which regulates exploration and mining and the organising of the use of areas required for mining and explora - tion. The Mining Act lays down provisions for the exploration and exploitation of a deposit con - taining mining minerals, for (non-mechanised) gold panning in an area owned by the state and for the termination of related operations, as well as the proceedings for the establishment of a mining area. The regulations of the Mining Act are supple - mented by the Government Decree on Mining Activities (No 391/2012, valtioneuvoston asetus kaivostoiminnasta ), the Decree of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy on Mine Hoists
(No 1455/2011, työ- ja elinkeinoministeriön ase- tus kaivosten nostolaitoksista ), the Government Decree on Mining Safety (No 1571/2011, val- tioneuvoston asetus kaivosturvallisuudesta ) and the Government Decree on Extractive Waste (No 190/2013, valtioneuvoston asetus kaivannaisjät- teistä ). 1.3 Ownership of Mineral Resources In Finland, the privilege to exploit a deposit belongs to the finder of the deposit, but the state controls and supervises the mining operations through the granting and supervision of explo - ration and mining permits under the Mining Act and Government Decree on Mining Activities. The party first applying for a permit in accord - ance with the provisions laid down in the Mining Act shall have priority for the permit. If a mining permit is applied for with respect to a deposit located within an area covered by a valid explo - ration permit, the exploration permit-holder shall have priority for the mining permit if it submits a mining-permit application as set out in the Min - ing Act during the validity of the exploration per - mit. For the purpose of preparing an exploration- permit application, an applicant may reserve an area by submitting notification to the mining authority about the matter (reservation notifica - tion). A reservation only provides priority for an exploration permit, not other rights. The landowner is entitled to an exploration fee with respect to exploration permits, and exca - vation fee and by-product fee with respect to mining permits. The exploration permit-holder must pay an annu - al compensation to the owners of land included in the exploration area, which is EUR20 per hec - tare for each of the first four years, EUR30 per hectare from the fifth to seventh year; EUR40
184 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook