SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Peter Dyer and Alexandra Thörnroos, Wåhlin Advokater AB
Apart from the fact that any mining operation must also be approved by the relevant regional land and environmental court (see 1.2 Legal System and Sources of Mining Law ), there is no overlap in jurisdiction between state and regional authorities. 1.7 Mining: Security of Tenure An exploration permit is valid for a period of three years and can be extended for a maximum of 15 years. The conditions for extension depend on the likelihood of finding mineable minerals and the amount of exploration already conduct - ed. For each extension, the conditions tend to become gradually more strict. The holder of an exploration permit has a prefer - ential right to acquire a mining permit for the area concerned. A mining permit will be granted if the applicant can show that the mineral deposit pro - vides a sufficient probability of profitable mining, and provided that the location and nature of the deposit do not render it inappropriate to grant the permit for other reasons. A mining permit gives the holder the right to exploit a mineral deposit for a period of 25 years. It can be extended for ten years at a time if work is performed on a regular basis in the stipulated area. If work is not performed on a regular basis in the area, the concession can still be extended for an additional period of ten years under cer - tain circumstances – eg, if the mining operation can still be considered active or if it is otherwise motivated by the common interest that the min - eral findings should continue to be exploited. Environmental permits may be time limited or valid for an unlimited time. However, even if unlimited, the environmental permit will be linked to the restrictions of the parallel mining permit under the Minerals Act.
Both exploration permits and mining permits can be transferred to another party after approval by the Mining Inspectorate. Such permission can be granted if the intended new permit holder meets the conditions set forth in the Minerals Act. The transfer of an environmental permit is also possible, provided that the new holder is taking over the permitted operation. The Mining Inspectorate has the power to revoke any exploration permit or mining permit if the holder fails to fulfil their obligations under the Minerals Act or the terms specified in the explo - ration permit or mining permit, or if there are other exceptional reasons. In the latter case, the permit holder is entitled to compensation from the State for the loss suffered. The terms of a mining permit can be changed by the Mining Inspectorate if an operation under the permit leads to considerable negative effects that were not anticipated when the permit was granted. The Environmental Code also provides the possibility to change the conditions of an environmental permit or to revoke the environ - mental permit, in whole or in part. Valid reasons for this would be either considerable breach of the terms of the permit or unforeseen conse - quences of a severe nature. A change process can be initiated by several governmental authori - ties.
2. Impact of Environmental Protection and Community Relations on Mining Projects 2.1 Environmental Protection and Licensing of Mining Projects
The development of a mining project in Sweden is always subject to approval by a regional Land and Environment Court, which rules according
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