FINLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tarja Pirinen, Fiiu Linninen, Teija Lius and Marko Koski, HPP Attorneys Ltd
of a permit that has been valid for at least ten years, extension must have consent of at least half of the landowners of the exploration area. A mining permit shall remain valid until further notice after becoming legally valid. A mining per - mit can also be granted for a fixed term, if this is justified in view of the quality and extent of the deposit, the applicant’s ability to meet the conditions for ensuring the commencement of mining activities, and other factors that have emerged during processing of the application. A fixed-term mining permit may remain valid for a maximum of ten years after the decision has become legally valid, after which its validity can be extended until further notice or by ten years at a time. The permit authority shall review the regulations of a mining permit that is in force until further notice at a maximum interval of ten years. In order to secure essential public or private inter - ests, or for other special reasons, an order can also be given for the regulations of a fixed-term mining permit to be revisited at regular intervals. The revision of permit regulations shall not in any significant way decrease the benefit gained from the mining project. The permit authority shall decide that the min - ing permit will expire if the permit-holder has not initiated mining activity within the time limit specified in the permit, or the preparatory work to indicate that the permit-holder is seriously aiming towards actual mining operations. The permit authority shall also decide that the mining permit will expire if mining activities have been interrupted because of a factor dependent on the permit-holder continuously for a minimum of five years, or if mining activities can be consid - ered to have actually ended. The matter may be raised by the permit authority on its own initia -
tive, by the local authority, or by a party suffering damage. However, the permit authority may postpone the expiry of the mining permit, twice at the most, and specify a new deadline for commencing mining activity or continuing operations. The expiry of a permit can be postponed for a maxi - mum of ten years in total. The permit-holder shall submit an application to the permit author - ity prior to the expiry of the mining permit, stating a reason for the granting of a time limit and set - ting forth a plan for commencing or continuing mining activity. Furthermore, the permit authority shall decide that the mining permit will expire if the mining area does not belong to the permit- holder or if the permit-holder has not gained possession of it within five years of the granting of the permit, or if the permit-holder submits an application concerning this. The mining authority shall alter an exploration or a mining permit, either on its own initiative or upon application by the relevant authority super - vising the securing of the public interest in its field or a party suffering damage, if the activities cause a consequence prohibited by the Mining Act, or the detrimental impacts of the activi - ties deviate substantially from the assessments made during permit consideration. The permit authority may cancel an exploration or a mining permit if incorrect or incomplete information has been given in the application or appendices thereto, such that it has essentially affected the conditions set for granting a per - mit or the permit consideration in other ways, if the permit-holder no longer meets the require - ments for the granting of a permit or if the per - mit-holder has materially neglected or violated the obligations, restrictions, or permit regula - tions laid down in the Mining Act. Permits may
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