Europe wants to be self-sufficient in minerals – but does the data tell a different story?

Permit status in Finland and Sweden in 2025 compared to 2024.

There is a lot of communication in the media, on social media, among politicians and especially within the industry about how Europe and the Nordic countries should aim for being more independent, self-sufficient and not so dependent on countries outside Europe. But is this really happening in practice?

Exploration activity is dropping significantly

In Finland, we have something called a Mineral Exploration Reservation. The reservation is a preliminary step that gives a company exclusive rights to a specific area for potential exploration – without allowing any major physical exploration activities yet A Reservation secures the area and allows time for investigating historical available data, interpreting and defining the area that the permit holder wants to convert to an Exploration Permit.

According to data from the Mining Authority (TUKES), in May 2024, 15 companies had 30 pending reservation applications. By May 2025, this had declined to just 8 companies with 9 pending applications – representing a 47% drop in the number of companies and a 70% drop in the number of applications. Even more striking is the reduction in the total area covered by these applications: from 2,874 km² in 2024 to just 152 km² in 2025 – a dramatic 95% decrease.

While we do not know the reasons behind this decline, it is worth noting that the Finnish government updated the Mining Act, which took effect in June 2023. One of the key changes was an increase in the fee for holding a reservation area.

Mineral exploration permits in Finland and Sweden

In addition to Mineral Exploration Reservations, we will also look more closely into the change in Exploration Permits Applications. Let’s first look at Finland and then Sweden, firstly focusing on the applications for permits, and later, on actual valid permits for the two countries.

Finland

• In May 2024, there were 514 pending applications at TUKES.
• In May 2025, the number dropped 22% to 400 applications.
• The total exploration area of these applications dropped by 19% from 5,564 km² to 4,489 km².
• In 2024 there where 74 companies having pending application at TUKES and in 2025 there where 75 companies.

The decrease in applications could, of course, be due to applications for 2024 being processed into valid permits. We will come back to this possibility later.

Sweden

• In March 2024, there were 17 companies with 44 applications.
• In March 2025, the number of companies having applications pending had dropped by 18%, to 14 companies, and the number of applications by 50% drop to 22.
• The total exploration area of these applications dropped by 86% from 1,739 km² to 240 km².

As the case in Finland, this may reflect decisions made on applications in spring 2024. We will now continue exploring this possibility for both countries.

Do valid permits explain the drop?

So, what about the valid Mineral Exploration Permits? Let’s look at the permits to see whether earlier applications have simply progressed into valid permits.

Finland

• Spring 2025: 386 valid permits held by 57 companies.
• Spring 2024: 369 valid permits, also held by 55 companies.
• This represents a 5% increase in valid permits.
• The total area increased from 2,920 km² (0.86% of Finland’s total area) to 3,074 km² (0.91%) – an increase of 5% of the total area of valid permits.

Sweden

• Permit holders stayed the same: 134 companies.
• Number of valid permits increased from 772 to 811, (+5%).
• Total area increased from 17,396 km² to 20,892 km², (+ 20%), now covering 4.64% of Sweden’s surface.

It appears as if the drop in the number of applications and the areas of all the applications from 2024 to 2025 is not explained by the fact that these became valid permits in 2025. In our opinion, the increase of 5% is too small to be significant.

Some companies have not extended permits expiring after spring 2024, which affects the total. Some of the valid permits in Spring 2024 might be as applications (extension application) in spring 2025, some migth have been dropped. At the same time, the number of permit holders hasn’t increased in Sweden. New companies are entering both Sweden and Finland, but we also have companies that don’t continue their exploration work into 2025.

Conclusion: The road to self-sufficiency starts with exploration

If we want to become more self-sufficient and less dependent on countries outside Europe for minerals over the next five to ten years, there needs to be stronger incentives for exploration.

The first step for exploration companies is securing land and permits for mineral exploration. Raising fees and increasing regulatory hurdles is not the right approach, especially at the early stage, when it’s still uncertain whether any economically viable mineralisation will even be found.

A balanced approach is needed – one that enables early-stage exploration while safeguarding environmental and community interests.