Mineral Policies and Land Use Planning in two Central European and two Nordic Countries with a Long Metal Mining History

"The paper presents a brief overview of the long mining history and the more recent political development in the Slovak and Czech Republics as well as in Norway and Sweden. Mining used to be very important sources of economic wealth in the four countries, but in today’s economy does exploitation of non-energy minerals usually account for less than one per cent of the GNP. The paper will discuss and compare the mining legislation, land use planning and mineral policies framework in the four countries and how this may influence sustainable management of mineral resources including planning for mineral supply, landbanks and sterilisation of resources. The paper will then identify some positive and negative elements in each country’s political and administrative framework."