This article is intended to make life a little bit easier for everyone interested in mineral exploration in Norway. We’ll start with a brief overview of the country’s raw material sector and a look at some of the most important legislation before sharing the best ways to access geological, geographical, and cadastral data. Be sure to check out our new free resources page where we will add more and more useful content going forward.
Norwegian Mineral Strategy 🇳🇴
In 2023, Norway published its new Mineral Strategy, underlining the government’s recognition of a need for domestic production of raw materials from a sustainable and geopolitical standpoint.
In short, the strategy outlines the country’s plans to develop the world’s most sustainable raw materials sector in close collaboration with similar international initiatives, like for example the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act. To achieve these ambitious goals, the country defined several focus areas, including, faster implementation of mineral projects and improved access to mineral project financing.
Statistics 📊
Although Norway has a rich mining history, hosting major deposits such as Lokken (24Mt @ 2.3% Cu) and larger discoveries like Nussir, the Nordic nation’s focus over the last decades has been on its oil and gas sector. Today, only two metal mines are operating in Norway – a titanium mine in the south and an iron ore operation in the central parts of the country.
In recent years, however, the country has seen a boom in exploration activities, with many new actors entering the stage. Norway has also caught the attention of major mining companies, with BHP recently forming an exploration alliance with Kingsrose Mining, a junior company focused on the underexplored northernmost regions of the country. The graphic below visualizes this uptick in exploration activities, albeit the most recent increase is mostly related to a single company staking large parts of the country.
While the landholding numbers do not necessarily indicate substantial exploration activities, the upward trend is confirmed by the increase in exploration spending, as illustrated in Dirmin’s graphic below.
Responsible Authorities🏛️
In Norway, the responsible authority for mineral exploration and mining (on land – seabed mining is a different story – some initial insights here) is the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. While the ministry is the governing authority, most of the day-to-day decisions are handled by the Directorate for Mineral Management (Direktoratet for mineralforvaltning, Dirmin).
Governing legislation⚖️📜
The Minerals Act 📜
The primary law governing mineral exploration and mining in Norway is the Minerals Act, which provides the framework for conducting mineral exploration, covering everything from the permitting system to how exploitation is regulated. Notably, the act differentiates between state and landowner minerals. A unique difference between Norway and most other countries with similar divisions is that certain minerals, such as lithium and graphite are defined as landowner minerals. The distinction between landowner and state-owned mineral has previously been the cause of conflict but has recently been clarified to some extend in a court ruling concerning the Engebo Garnet-Rutile deposit.
There are of course also other important legislations that apply when conducting exploration work in Norway. To name a few, everyone working in Norway should be aware of the Reindeer Herding Act, the Outdoor Activities Act, the Motor Traffic Act, and associated regulations.
Updates to the Minerals Act 🔄⚖️
With regards to the Minerals Act, it is worth noting that Norway is currently working on a larger assessment and update of the Minerals Act (Nou 2022:8), to better align it with the Ministry of Trade and Fisheries general objective to facilitate overall value creation within a sustainable framework.
While these proposals are still under review and there is no guarantee that they will be fully or partially adopted, the document outlines some interesting changes. An important proposal is a change in the permitting system, away from annual renewals to permits issued in three-year blocks with each renewal subject to increasing exploration expenditures, aligning somewhat with the Swedish system.
Although there has been no official statement on when the proposal will be brought before parliament, rumors suggest that this might happen during the summer of 2025.
The permitting system✅
To apply for an exploration permit, a business must be listed in the Norwegian Business registry. The permitting system in Norway generally operates on a first-come, first-served basis with annual fees required to retain the priority rights over the state’s minerals in a specific area. Details about the fees and the exact process can be found on Dirmin’s website.
When it comes to the actual application process, Norway stands out thanks to its recent implementation of a user-friendly online permitting portal. Once logged into the portal you can apply within minutes by yourself. Currently, it is only possible to select rectangles aligned to the UTM grid lines, but we are hopeful to see the ability to apply with more complex shapes in the near future (@Dirmin).
Conducting exploration work👷
As in many countries with a well-developed metal mining industry, an exploration permit in Norway does not automatically grant the right to begin exploration activities. The additional permits required to conduct your work generally depend on two key factors: the location of the area of interest and the nature of the planned exploration activities.
Searches and Investigation 🔎
Exploration work in Norway is typically classified as either searches or investigations, with the latter being more “invasive” in a way that it might involve larger machinery or more extensive surveys. To give a few examples, searches usually involve chip sampling, most ground and airborne geophysics, and limited geochemical sampling programs, while common examples for investigation work would be diamond drilling or trenching.
Depending on which category your planned work falls under, you will either only have to inform the stakeholders (searches) a little while in advance, or hand in a detailed workplan in case of more detailed investigation work.
If you plan to explore in Finnmark, the northernmost part of the country, the rules differ. For instance, conducting investigation work in this region requires special permission from the Ministry of Fisheries and Trade. More information on work in Finnmark can be accessed here.
How to Access Data📂
If you made it this far in the article without falling asleep, chances are you are a geologist eager to take a closer look at Norway. Since figuring out how to access different datasets and locate additional information on specific topics related to mineral exploration in Norway can be time-consuming (we’ve been there ourselves!), we hope the following section proves helpful.
A great starting point for orienting yourself in Norway is Dirmin’s map viewer, which allows you to overlay various layers (geology, mineral resources, historic reports…) on top of the currently issued exploration permits.
Since a few months, it’s also possible to see the latest permit applications, although this feature does not yet seem to be integrated into the classical map viewer. If you prefer to work with the raw data, you can download it directly from Dirmin.
Geological Data ⛏️
Once you identified an area of interest, developed some ideas or a new concept, it’s a good idea to have a look at the Geological Surveys website. The site offers access to more detailed online maps (bedrock, mineral resources,…), but also allows you to download data or access the data via direct links. In general, most datasets available on NGU’s website can be sourced via Geonorges map catalog.
Geophysical Data 🧲
The best way to explore the geophysical surveys conducted in a specific area of interest is through the Geological Survey of Norway’s Geoscience Data Portal. This portal not only visualizes all available geophysical data but also allows you to download datasets or create your own GeoTIFFs for specific areas of interest.
Geochemical Data ⚛️
To check for existing geochemical data in an area of interest, you can refer to the survey’s national geochemistry database. While some datasets are available for immediate download, others may require you to contact NGU directly for access.
Basemaps 🗺️
While there is the possibility to download certain basemaps like lower resolution satellite photos through Geonorge, the available datasets do not include for example high-resolution aerial photos. I’d therefore recommend simply using WMS links in your GIS software. The best way to access the different WMS links is via Geodata Online.
Elevation Data ⛰️
If you need to plan a drone survey or are planning to create a 3D model of a certain area, you’ll likely need of a DEM. In Norway, most of this data is freely accessible. You can either visualize and download the elevation data at hoyedata.no or download it via geonorge. Alternatively, you can integrate elevation data into your GIS software using links provided by Geodata Online.
Landownership 🚧
To find out who owns a certain land parcel, the simplest approach is to use Norgeskart and enable the property information on the left-hand menu (see below). This will allow you to see the actual property boundaries (if you zoom in). For information on accessing ownership data, refer to this link.
If you are working with QGIS or similar you can download the dataset displayed in Norgeskart for free. There is also the possibility to link your GIS to an online server but this requires an account.
Environmental protection status ♻️
Learning more about the environmental protection status of a certain area is essential. In Norway, a good source of information is the Norwegian Environmental Agency’s website. Their online map viewer solution allows you to have check the protection status of any area of interest. Alternatively, the relevant data can be downloaded from Geonorge.
Reindeer Herding 🦌
If you plan to explore the northern parts of the country, reindeer husbandry is another important factor to consider, as most of the land is, at least seasonally, of great importance for the reindeer and Sámi culture. A good place to find initial information is Landbruskdirektoratet’s website. They also have a map viewer that allows you to plot the different herding districts and important infrastructure, although information on the Siidaer is often not up to date or fully digitized. The data can be downloaded or linked via WMS, using Geonorge’s map catalog.
Historic Drill Core
Norway’s drill core storage facility is located at the site of the former Lokken mine, about an hour’s drive from Trondheim. Built in 1991, the storage now houses more than 800,000m of historic core from all over the country. The archive also features logging facilities that can be rented, allowing you to re-log the historic core at site.
Drilling data can be visualized online, for instance, using NGU’s Mineral Resource Map, or by setting up a WMS link to the survey’s website.
Other useful links 🔗
In addition to the resources mentioned above, there exist a handful of other tools and features to improve your workflow in Norway. Depending on your location, there can still be snow cover in June or July so it’s worth having a look at the snow cover map before you head out. It’s also worth checking your mobile connection as the coverage is not guaranteed in the mountainous parts of the country. Telenor’s coverage map gives you a good idea if it would be wise to sign up for inReach or Starlink or if your mobile network is sufficient.
Hope this helps to get you started and please make sure to check out our free resource page, where we will post more useful content going forward.
/The Northern Explorer
