FINLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tarja Pirinen, Fiiu Linninen, Teija Lius and Marko Koski, HPP Attorneys Ltd
engines in order to achieve the goals to reduce carbon emissions agreed upon in the EU. 3.3 Sustainable Development Initiatives Related to Mining The new Government Programme published in 2023 aims to influence the climate primarily through effective emission-reduction measures, increasing carbon sinks and innovative clean solutions that replace solutions based on pol - luting energy sources and raw materials in both Finland and other countries. The government will review the Carbon Neutral - ity strategy in connection with the preparation of the new Energy and Climate strategy. One of the priorities of the Energy and Climate Strategy is that Finland will reduce emissions faster than anticipated in industry and energy production. The aim is also to update low-carbon road maps for industries. In addition to government-led projects, the Finn - ish Network of Sustainable Mining has been part of developing more sustainable mining in Finland since 2014. The network provides an ongoing forum for discussion and co-operation between the mining industry and its stakehold - ers. It develops suitable tools for Finland to pro - mote more responsible and sustainable mining, to exploit synergies between different industries and to prevent conflicts. In the network’s vision, Finland will develop into a pioneer in sustainable mining, where the industry will take into account natural values, cultural and social environment and other industries. 3.4 Energy-Transition Minerals The National Mineral Strategy of Finland was published in December 2024. The objective of the strategy is to promote the growth of the Finnish mineral cluster in order to strengthen
the clean transition and strategic autonomy of Europe and to increase the value add of min - ing raw materials. It defines six main targets which include – eg, efficient implementation of the Critical Raw Materials Act and responsibility in all areas of sustainability. To meet the identi - fied objectives, the strategy proposes measures such as promoting streamlining of permit proce - dures, ensuring adequate mapping of the min - eral potential of bedrock and planning incentives for the introduction of the best technologies and circular economy solutions. 4. Taxation of Mining and Exploration 4.1 Mining and Exploration Duties, Royalties and Taxes In addition to the exploration, excavation and by-product fees payable by the permit-holder to the landowners, a reservation fee of EUR1/hec - tare is payable to the state by the party making the reservation notification for the reserved area. New Mining Mineral Tax Act (314/2023, kaivosmineraaliverolaki ) took effect on 1 Janu - ary 2024. The Act will be applied for mining of minerals referred to in the Mining Act, except for minerals found in gold panning. The mining com - pany, as a holder of the mining permit, is liable to pay mining mineral tax. The obligation to pay mining mineral tax arises for metallic minerals (Ag, Co, Cr, Au, Cu, Li, Ni, Pd, Pt, Zn, Pb, U) at the time when the mining mineral is delivered for enrichment. According to the guidance issued by the Finnish Tax Administration (FTA), the tax is levied also from such metallic mineral which cannot be utilised during enrichment. For other mining minerals referred to in the Mining Act, the obligation to pay mining mineral tax arises at the time of extraction. In case the mining permit is
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