Principally important inquiry on alum slate

The Government has appointed an inquiry into the tightening of the regulations for the extraction of metals and minerals from alum slate. A special investigator will impartially analyze how the regulations for the extraction of metals and minerals from alum slates can be tightened and submit constitutional proposal.

The inquiry directive describes, among other things, that extraction requires land areas to be utilized and this may conflict with other land use interests. At the same time, it is pointed out that alum slate can contain several metals and minerals that are necessary for the development of green technology and that the tightening should be compatible with that Sweden will continue to be a pioneering country for sustainable development in the mineral industry. In addition to taking into account the increasing need for innovation-critical metals and minerals for the conversion to green energy, the investigator must ensure that neither the investment climate nor the technological development deteriorate.

– This is an important inquiry for Svemin and our member companies, since in principally important issues such as land use are likely to be affected, says Kerstin Brinnen, Svemin’s legal councel. Access to land is central to all extraction because mineral deposits cannot be moved and that any mining must therefore occur where the deposit is located. There are almost always different interests about how the land should be used, but when it comes to the extraction of metals and minerals, it must be remembered that they are not only a prerequisite for the standard of living and society we have today, but are also necessary for us to meet our national and international climate commitments by switching to electrification, energy storage and renewable energy technology.

Short inquiry time
The assignment was decided on March 12 and will be finalized by 1 December 2020 at the latest. The former councilor at the Land and Environmental Court in Umeå, Helen Leijon, has been appointed chief of the inquiry. An expert group has also been appointed to assist the investigation in various respects, which include Kerstin Brinnen. The expert group consists of broad expertise with representatives from, among others, the SGU, the Swedish Energy Agency, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, the Marine and Water Authority, the LRF, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation and researchers from Chalmers and LTU.