FINLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tarja Pirinen, Fiiu Linninen, Teija Lius and Marko Koski, HPP Attorneys Ltd
6. Mining: Outlook and Trends 6.1 Two-Year Forecast for the Mining Sector Energy transition, green transition and the challenges of EU self-sufficiency will support demand for domestic raw material and refining operations. It is likely that mining companies’ interest to increase production and exploration of the criti - cal minerals needed for the green transition will continue. As a result, interest towards explo - ration and production of – eg, cobalt, copper, nickel, lithium and graphite can be expected to continue. Critical minerals are also likely to impact mergers and acquisitions, when com - panies continue to prepare their operations for the green transition. Companies will also aim to reduce their own carbon emissions. Key challenges for mines, in relation to envi - ronmental issues, are likely to be discharge into water bodies and the impact of environmental objectives for water management in relation thereto, extractive waste management, includ - ing guarantees, and requirements for land use planning. Ongoing Legislative Projects National preparatory legislative work to imple - ment the EU’s Critical Raw Minerals Act (2024/1252/EU) is currently ongoing. The aim is to set measures to streamline the permitting procedures of strategic raw material projects (including mining projects) by giving such pro - jects certain priorities – eg, by setting binding timelines for the permitting. In addition, there is currently a “single-window approach” legislative project in progress aiming to ensure that in future a single environmen -
Other sources of financing for running opera - tions in the mining sector in Finland include – eg, different types of loans and facilities from commercial banks or other lending institu - tions, receivables finance or reverse factoring arrangements, prepayment arrangements, leas - ing arrangements and financing arrangements to cover environmental guarantee obligations. Financiers operating in Finland for the mentioned purposes are both local and foreign banks, other lending institutions and financiers and insurance companies and sureties. 5.5 Role of Domestic and International Securities Markets in the Financing of Exploration, Development and Mining Financing for many exploration and mining projects in Finland is raised through foreign exchanges – eg, in Canada, Australia or Swe - den. Some companies are dual listed in Finland but in general the securities market in Finland is not considered to be as strong as, for example, in Sweden. 5.6 Security over Mining Tenements and Related Assets The permit-holder can pledge the right to exploit mining minerals, based on a mining permit, or the privilege under an exploration permit. The right to pledge becomes effective when the mining authority receives written notification of the pledge from the permit-holder. The mining authority issues the permit-holder with a certifi - cate of receipt of the notification. The security package related to a mining project may con - sist of the permits, the properties owned by the permit-holder and a floating charge.
199 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook