Applying for the grant, transfer, merger, rent or lease of mining concessions

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Summary

Do you wish to exploit a mine in Wallonia? The system currently in place is that of mining concessions.

However, mining legislation is being revised with a view to its modernisation and, in particular, ensuring environmental guarantees for this type of application for a permit to exploit the Walloon subsoil.

SUBSTANCES MINING

The mine is defined in relation to the licensed substances and not in relation to the mode of exploitation (underground or open-pit mining). There are underground as well as open-pit mines. It is the substance exploited that defines whether mining or quarry legislation applies.

Mining mainly includes the exploitation of metals and coal.

Would you like to find out more about mining substances and concessions, the difference between a mine and a quarry and the exploitation of the Walloon subsoil in general? Visit the geology website (see useful links below).

MINING CONCESSION

Currently, mines can only be exploited after obtaining a concession, which may be granted to the owner of the surface or to a third party chosen by the Walloon Government.

A mining concession is a contract creating and granting the ownership of a mine and the right to exploit it to a concessionaire who therefore receives exclusive rights to the resource(s) that is (are) the subject of the permit. The concessionaire becomes the operator recognised by the authorities.

The concession contract grants:

  • the surface owners the right to the fixed and proportional royalties determined by the concession contract,
  • the concessionaire the right of real and perpetual ownership of the mine and, consequently, the right to exploit it and to dispose of the exploitation products.

However, environmental permits for surface installations and underground works are required before the start of the exploitation.

DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? CONTACT US

To discuss your application, contact the Directorate for Industrial, Geological and Mineral Risks

Key points

The procedure is no longer valid and is currently being revised. For any questions, you can contact the contact(s) listed below.

 
In detail
Target audience - details

Any company with the technical and financial competences to exploit a mine in Wallonia

Procedure

 For details of the procedure in force, see Order of the Walloon Regional Executive of 26 July 1990 implementing the Decree of 7 July 1988 on mining, as regards the procedure to be followed for the grant, transfer, merger, rent or lease of concessions.

Please do not hesitate to contact us regarding your specific situation and application.

Any application for a mining concession is free of charge and can be made in French and German.

IN SUMMARY – APPLICATION PROCEDURE FOR GRANTING A CONCESSION:

  1. Your concession application should be addressed to the Directorate for Industrial, Geological and Mineral Risks (DRIGM).
  2. The application is entered in the special register of mining titles and an extract thereof is issued.
  3. We will check whether the application is complete. If not, we will request the missing data.
  4. If the application is complete, we will certify each plan, and, within 8 days, we will send a copy of the application and the file to the governor, or, where applicable, to each of the governors of the relevant provinces. The governor will send a copy of the application file to the municipalities concerned in order for a public enquiry to be organised.
  5. After the public enquiry, you will have 30 days to examine the public enquiry file and respond to any comments.
  6. Within 3 months of the end of the public inquiry, we will send the file with an analytical report to the Minister of Environment.
  7. Within the following month, the Minister will send the complete file, together with his/her report, to the Council of State for opinion.
  8. The Government will issue a reasoned decision within 8 months of the receipt of the application. This period may be extended, one or more times, by an additional period of 4 months by a reasoned decision of the Government.
  9. The order will be published in the Belgian Official Gazette. A certified copy with the plans will be then provided to the applicants.

SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

How? By registered mail: Avenue Prince de Liège 15, 5100 Namur (Jambes) with notice of delivery, in 2 copies for each province concerned.

A copy without the annexes is sent to the Minister of Environment.

INFORMATION/ANNEXES TO BE PROVIDED

Your application must include the following information:

  • identity of the applicant:
    • surname, first name, capacity, nationality, domicile;
    • for a company: business name, legal form and registered office of the company;
    • for a company being incorporated: all known information on the personality of the ultimate applicant and your commitment to complete the application once the company has been incorporated;
    • for several companies acting jointly and severally: all the information concerning the applicant must be provided by each company;
  • the nature of the substances to be exploited;
  • the requested duration of the concession;
  • the precise boundary lines of the area and its size for each province;
  • the mining titles you hold for the substances in question;
  • a summary of this data to be used for publicity purposes.

You must also attach a series of annexes:

  • proof of your technical and financial competences;
  • cartographic records;
  • articles of association and other company documents;
  • site development programme and its estimated cost;

APPEAL

An appeal may be lodged with the Council of State. For an application for annulment of a decision, consult the Council’s website.

Useful links
Contacts
Services
If you have any questions about mining concessions, contact the Directorate for Industrial, Geological and Mineral Risks
mines@spw.wallonie.be
Updated on :
Process n° : 4111
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