Sweden’s Minerals Act (1991:45) governs exploration and mining of specific, listed “concession minerals.” For these minerals, no party (including the landowner) has an automatic right to exploit them, instead, the State, through the Mining Inspectorate (Bergsstaten, within SGU) may grant exploration permits and exploitation concessions to qualified applicants.
Minerals not regulated as concession minerals are commonly called landowner minerals, the rights to those rest with the landowner, though extraction still requires environmental and other permits. In practice concession minerals are accessed via state permits and landowner minerals belong to the landowner and are handled via agreement plus permitting.
Examples of concession minerals: iron (Fe), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), gold (Au), silver (Ag) and vanadium (V), oil, gaseous hydrocarbons, coal, diamonds and other precious stones. Uranium’s (U) status as a concession mineral is currently pending.
Examples of landowner minerals: limestone, quartz and feldspar (when not of metallic grade), sand, clay, peat, dimension stone and natural stone (e.g., granite, diabase, marble).
Sources:
- Regeringskansliet / Sveriges Riksdag, “Minerallagen (1991:45)”, https://rkrattsbaser.gov.se/sfst?bet=1991:45
- SGU, “Minerallagstiftning”, https://www.sgu.se/mineralnaring/minerallagstiftning/
- SGU, “Undersökningstillstånd”, https://www.sgu.se/bergsstaten/undersokningstillstand/