Legislation on minerals

The Minerals Act (1991:45) came into force on 1 July 1992. It has subsequently been amended as follows:

• 1 July 1993, abolition of the rules giving the state a half share in mines (1993:690),
• 1 July 1998, introduction of protection zone rules for mines (1998:165),
• 1 January 1999, adapted to the new Environmental Code (1998:808), which entered into force on the same date.

Minerals Act (1991:45), pdf, opens in a new window

The other principal acts and ordinances governing the exploitation of minerals are:

• Minerals Ordinance (1992:285)
• The Act on the Continental Shelf (1966:314),
• The Continental Shelf Ordinance (1966:315),
• The Certain Peat Deposits Act (1985:620),
• The Certain Peat Deposits Ordinance (1985:626).

For several hundred years, Sweden and other countries have had a special minerals legislation to safeguard the supply of metals and certain other minerals. Laws and ordinances on mining were being written as early as the Middle Ages. The oldest surviving ones are King Magnus Eriksson's charter of 1340 for Västra Berget and the charter of 1347 for the Copper Mountain, Falun. The ordinance of the "1485 council regarding the right to ores" contains the first regulations in Sweden on the right to make use of ore deposits.

Over the last century, Sweden has had the following laws relating to minerals:

• The 1884 Mining Regulation (1884:24), which was replaced by
• the 1938 Mining Act (1938:314), which was in turn superseded by
• the 1974 Mining Act (1974:342).
• The 1886 Coal Deposits Act (1886:46) and
• the 1960 Uranium Act (1960:679). These were both replaced by
• the Act concerning Certain Mineral Deposits (1974:890).

The Minerals Act currently in force replaced both the 1974 Mining Act and the Act concerning Certain Mineral Deposits of the same year.

Guide to mineral legislation and regulations in Sweden

The guide is an introduction to the Swedish mineral legislation and regulations. The guide has however no official status. Those who want to know the exact wording of the Acts are referred to the Swedish text.

Download the guide (pdf-format, 237 kB)