Mining projects

For every mining operation and the construction of mining facilities and plants, it is necessary to develop mining projects according to the Mining Act. The preparation of mining project documentation is one of the core activities of RUDAR PROJEKT d.o.o. Therefore, in the following text, let’s briefly review the types of mining projects, the participants involved in their development, when and for what purpose they are prepared, and whether they are subject to verification by the ministry responsible for mining (Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development).

Types of Mining Projects

According to the Mining Act, there are several types of mining projects, including:

• Main mining project,
• Supplementary mining project,
• Simplified mining project,
• Conceptual mining project,
• Mining project of technical rehabilitation.

Main mining projects are prepared for the purpose of conducting mining operations and constructing mining facilities and plants.

Supplementary mining projects are prepared for significant deviations* from the verified main or supplementary mining project.

Main and supplementary mining projects can also be prepared as standard projects with the prior consent of the ministry responsible for mining. Both projects are subject to verification by the ministry responsible for mining.

For minor deviations from the verified main or supplementary mining project and for mineral resource exploration, a simplified mining project is prepared. Before preparing this type of mining project, it is necessary to obtain approval from the ministry, and after preparation, it should be submitted for review and storage.

The purpose of preparing a conceptual mining project is to create a professional basis for assessing the feasibility of interventions for the ecological network, for preparing an environmental impact assessment of the mining intervention, and for obtaining a location permit. It is also prepared in the process of extraordinary space remediation and in the process of determining the exploitation field of sea salt and construction sand and gravel from the seabed. A conceptual mining project is not subject to verification but only needs to be submitted for review and storage.

The technical mining rehabilitation (rehabilitation withouth exploitation) is done according to the main mining project of technical rehabilitation or a simplified mining project of technical rehabilitation.

Participants in the Preparation of Mining Projects

As the preparation of a mining project is a complex process, it involves multiple participants. According to the Regulation on Mining Projects, the participants in the preparation of mining projects are as follows:

• Mining economic entity – the holder of the exploration area or exploitation field of mineral resources,
• Local government unit,
• Mining project developer (legal entity),
• Responsible designer,
• Designer, and
• Collaborator.

Before the actual start of the mining project, the mining project developer must appoint a responsible designer, and if necessary, designers and collaborators as well.

In order to ensure the rational utilization of mineral resources and compliance with measures and regulations for occupational safety, the safety of people and facilities, surface and neighboring objects, as well as environmental protection measures, the responsible designer, designer, and collaborator are required to implement and apply the provisions of the Mining Act, as well as the provisions of other laws and regulations for their implementation.

Preparation and Equipping of Mining Projects

When preparing mining projects, it is essential that they are created in a way that allows their content to be easily tracked and that they are comprehensive, including all individual parts of the project.

Each of the mining projects consists of a textual part and graphic documentation. The content of the textual part must be prepared in accordance with the Regulation on Mining Projects, which provides a list of all chapters and subchapters that a mining project must contain. The graphic documentation is prepared in accordance with Croatian standards for the preparation of graphic documentation.

*significant deviations:

• changes in the scope of the mining operation in terms of surface and/or depth,
• modifications to existing mining facilities or the introduction of new mining facilities,
• changes in the annual extraction of mineral resources.