FINLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tarja Pirinen, Fiiu Linninen, Teija Lius and Marko Koski, HPP Attorneys Ltd
per hectare from the eighth to tenth year; and EUR50 per hectare for the 11th and for further years of validity of the exploration permit, up to the maximum validity of 15 years. A mining permit-holder must pay an annual excavation fee to the owners of the land included in the mining area. The excavation fee consists of a fixed annual amount of EUR50 per hectare and a variable fee which is based on the value of the executed and exploited minerals. If the permit authority has postponed the expiry of the mining permit prior to mining having started, or if mining operations have been interrupted for more than five years, the fixed excavation fee is EUR100 per hectare until mining activities are commenced or resumed. The variable excavation fee is 0.15% of the cal - culated value of mining minerals included in the metal ores that are excavated and exploited in the course of a year or, if mining minerals other than metallic minerals are in question, taking into consideration the grounds influencing the financial value of the mining minerals, a reason - able compensation for excavated and exploited mining minerals in accordance with either an agreement between the property owner and the holder of a mining permit, or confirmation by the mining authority. The mining authority confirms the amount of the excavation fee annually by its decision based on information that is to be submitted by the holder of the mining permit for that purpose by 15 March each year. In addition, the mining permit-holder must pay annual property-specific compensation (by- product fee) to each landowner in the mining area for the benefit gained from by-products of mining activities that are used for purposes other than mining activity. The by-product fee shall be moderate, considering the factors influ -
encing the financial value of the by-product. If the mining permit-holder and landowner do not agree on the compensation, it shall be a maxi - mum of 10% of the sales proceeds gained from the by-product. If an agreement is not made on the by-product, it shall be ordered officially in a proceeding establishing a mining area, con - ducted upon application by the party claiming compensation, the party concerned responsible for prospecting work, or the permit-holder. 1.4 Role of the State in Mining Law and Regulations The state has a grantor-regulator role in Fin - land. The parliament enacts the laws. The state controls and supervises the mining operations through the granting and supervision of the exploration and mining permits by the relevant state authorities. The Ministry of Employment and the Economy is responsible for the general guidance, monitoring and development of explo - ration and mining activities under the Mining Act. The Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency ( Tukes ) acts as the general mining authority responsible for granting exploration and mining permits and enforcement of compliance with the Mining Act. The government, however, decides on matters concerning a redemption permit for a mining area and on mining permits related to the production of uranium or thorium. Otherwise, there is no mandatory national or government joint venture, contracting or par - ticipation in relation to exploration or mining operations in Finland. If an exploration or min - ing project is located on state-owned proper - ties, the state as a landowner is represented by Metsähallitus , the state-owned enterprise that administrates the state-owned land and water areas.
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