Geological heritage and mining legislation: a brief conceptual assessment of the principal legal acts of selected EU countries

The principal legal acts regulating minerals policy in 21 EU countries are examined in order to understand what they prescribe (“in theory”) regarding management of in situ and ex situ geological heritage. All analyzed mining laws claim for rational exploitation of geological heritage as an economic resource. The acts of Bulgaria, Denmark, Hungary, Latvia, and Lithuania emphasize on its non-economic importance, but even they tend to reference geological heritage in overly general words. The laws allow conservation of geological heritage together with the whole environment. However, responsible stakeholders may be unaware of unique and sometimes “fragile” geological features.