Useful information for companies and prospectors
The Minerals Act relates to the exploration and exploitation of certain
mineral deposits on land, regardless of the ownership of the land. Applications
for permits etc. are made to the Mining Inspectorate (Bergsstaten).
The Act defines to which mineral substances its provisions apply; these
are known as concession minerals (see Ch. 1 Section 1). Concession minerals
are divided into three categories. These are traditional ores, certain
industrial minerals and finally oil, gas and diamonds. Other minerals
and other kinds of rock, gravel and sand are excluded from the Act and
are normally referred to as landowner minerals.
An exploration permit (undersökningstillstånd) gives
access to the land and an exclusive right to explore within the permit
area. It does not entitle the holder to undertake exploration work in
contravention of any environmental regulations that apply to the area.
Applications for exemptions are normally made to the County Administrative
Board.
An exploitation concession (bearbetningskoncession) gives the
holder the right to exploit a proven, extractable mineral deposit for
a period of 25 years, which may be prolonged.
Permits and concessions under the Minerals Act may be transferred with
the permission of the Mining Inspector.
Exploration permits
An exploration permit is granted for a specific area where a successful
discovery is likely to be made. It should be of a suitable shape and
size and no larger than may be expected to be explored by the permit
holder in an appropriate manner. Normally, permits for areas larger
than a total of 100 hectares are not granted to private individuals.
A permit is to be granted if there is reason to assume that exploration
in the area may lead to the discovery of a concession mineral.
Permits relating to oil, gas or diamonds may only be granted to those
who have adequate qualifications to carry out exploration work for such
resources.
An exploration permit is initially valid for a period of three years,
after which it can be extended up to a total of 15 years if special
conditions are met.
Form for reporting the results
of exploration work results (in Swedish)
Application form for
exploration permit for ordinary concession mineralsapplication (in Swedish)
The Mining Inspectorate aims to avoid unreasonable waiting times for
exploration permits. Complete documentation should therefore be submitted
at the same time as the application, including such things as real estate
audits and all map data. The rules as to the contents of an application
appear in Sections 1–2 of the Minerals Ordinance (1992:285). As
a rule, a 1:50 000 topographical map should provide the basic survey
data, together with an up-to-date 1:10 000 real estate map with
clearly legible information on the exploration area. If it is not possible
to submit all the supplementary reports required together with the application,
these additional documents should be submitted to the Inspectorate
within one week at the latest. Under the current rules, applications
that are not completed within a reasonable time may be refused.
Since the Minerals Act is based on the principle of the first permit
application being given priority, it causes complications if supplementary
documentation for incomplete applications is submitted late.
Exploration work
Exploration work may not be carried out in contravention of environmental
or other regulations that may apply to the area. Relevant provisions
are for example to be found in Ch. 3 Sections 6–7 of the Minerals
Act, in the Environmental Code, and in the Act concerning Ancient Monuments
and Finds, and in the Off-Road Driving Act.
Compensation must be paid by the permit holder for damage or encroachment
caused by exploration work.
When an exploration permit expires without an exploitation concession
being granted, the results of the exploration work undertaken must be
reported to the Mining Inspector.
Exploitation concessions
An exploitation concession relates to a distinct area, designated on
the basis of the location and extent of a proven mineral deposit, and
is normally valid for 25 years. A concession may be granted when a mineral
deposit is discovered which is probably technically and economically
recoverable during the period of the concession, and if the nature and
position of the deposit does not make it inappropriate to grant a concession.
Special provisions apply to concessions relating to oil and gaseous
hydrocarbons.
Under the provisions of the Environmental Code, an application for
an exploitation concession is to be accompanied by an environmental
impact assessment. Applications are considered in consultation with
the County Administrative Board, taking into account whether the site
is acceptable from an environmental point of view.
Permit from the Environmental Court
Under the rules of the Environmental Code, a special environmental
impact assessment for the mining operation must always be submitted
to the Environmental Court, which examines the impact of the operation
on the environment in a broad sense. The Court also stipulates the conditions
which the operation is to meet.
Acquisition of land
Land needed for exploitation is normally acquired by the mining company
through contracts of sale or leases. If there is a contract of sale,
a property registration procedure must generally be undertaken through
the Land Survey authority in order for registration of title to be granted.
Before any land, inside or outside the concession area, may be used
it has to be designated by the Mining Inspector (markanvisning). This
procedure usually regulates the compensation etc. to be paid to affected
landowners, normally on the basis of an agreement between the company
and the landowners, together with any other parties whose rights may
be affected.
Taxes and duties
Mining companies (limited companies) pay corporation tax under the
same rules as every other company. Accordingly, there are no special
taxation rules for such companies.
The application fee for an exploration permit is SEK 500 for each
area of 2,000 hectares or part thereof. The exploration fee varies for
different concession minerals and for different periods of validity
(see Section 10 of the Minerals Ordinance).
The application fee for an exploitation concession is SEK 80,000
per area.
Information on minerals
One of the functions of the
Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU) is to investigate, document, describe
and provide information regarding Sweden's bedrock.
SGU
has a minerals information office at Malå, Västerbotten.
Its task is to store and supply geological data for prospecting in Sweden.
The archives of the office hold all the data produced by state-financed
prospecting (which was discontinued at the beginning of the 1990s).
These data cover all aspects of modern prospecting, and include such
things as exploration reports, low-altitude aerial geophysics, ground
geophysics and till geochemistry. The Swedish National Drill Core Archive
is also located in Malå, with a collection of over 3,000,000 metres
of cores (approx. 15,000 bore holes) from all over Sweden.
The Malå office offers the following services:
- database searches for references, e.g. exploration and scientific
reports etc.,
- database and archive searches for other information, e.g. geological
maps, ground geophysical measurements, geochemical data, boulders,
and drill cores,
- loans or copies of requested material and information,
- facilities for core logging, core cutting, and temporary offices.
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