Permitting/Licensing

The permitting system for Mineral Raw Materials (MRM) exploration and exploitation in Greece involves two regulatory pillars, corresponding to the legal classification of MRM in Metallic Minerals or Ores and Quarry Minerals and having as capstones the Mining Code (MC) and the Quarrying Law. The MC applies to the permitting of   Metallic Minerals or Ores and the Quarrying Law to the permitting of Quarry Minerals. The Mining and Quarrying Activities’ Regulation (KMLE) applies to all types of mining and quarrying sites during exploration, extraction, exploitation, or treatment of mineral raw materials and rehabilitation activities.

Environmental permitting, as provisioned by L.4014/2011, constitutes a prerequisite for the overall permitting/licensing of extractive activities. The environmental permitting of projects and activities classified as category A (Environmental classification of mining activities) requires an Environmental Impacts Assessment Study (EIA) and the issuance of the Environmental Terms Approval Decision (AEPO). Category B projects and activities do not follow this process but are subject to Standard Environmental Commitments (SEC).

The preparation and approval of the EIA and Technical Study, duly submitted to the competent Permitting/Licensing authorities, constitute key components of the permitting system and comprise the most demanding and time-consuming stages of the permitting/licensing process.