News & Views

Hannes Snellman’s Lawyers to Prepare a Report on the Functioning of the Reservation Mechanism Under the Mining Act

15 June 2021

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is preparing a government bill amending the Finnish Mining Act (621//2011). With respect to the pending amendment, Hannes Snellman's lawyers Klaus Metsä-Simola, Heikki Majamaa, Rabbe Sittnikow, and Milla Männistö have prepared a report on the reservation mechanism related to exploration and mining.

In the report, published on 14 June 2021, our experts assess the role of the regulation of reservations in the Mining Act (621/2011) currently in force for exploration and the mining sector. The report also assesses the impact of the regulation of reservations on the rights of landowners, local economic activities and land use in the area, and the realisation of the rights of the Sámi people in the Sámi homeland, and the impacts of the reservation mechanism concerning the reservation rights, social aspects, and the environment. Feedback from stakeholders was collected for the report. In addition, the report discusses various options to develop the regulation of reservation in the Mining Act or to abolish the reservation mechanism altogether.

To access the full report in Finnish, please visit the Finnish Government’s website here.

The report includes a description sheet in English. The full report will be published in English later by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.