Geological Resources

 

 

Geological patrimony/ geological resources includes natural assets of a geological nature which, besides their inherent economic value, intrinsically possess other values in view of their geological, mining or educational relevance, which are therefore liable to be densified in a multiplicity of value elements according to a wide range of areas of knowledge, namely geomorphological, mineralogical, crystallographic, petrological, stratigraphic, tectonic, hydrogeological, pedological, speleological and landscape-related.

 

 

Source: DSMP. Lagares Mine. District of Viseu

 

 

Law 54/2015 assumes geological resources/geological patrimony as natural assets that have a relative and not absolute legal value, which may be harmonised and made compatible with other legal and constitutional assets or values, thus avoiding radicalism in the design and application of instruments for the defence and enhancement of these natural assets. Geological resources/geological patrimony tend to be a matter of concern to each and every member of society, especially since a significant part of these natural assets integrate or may come to integrate the public domain, as per Article 5. This greater coverage of public dominiality does not have any underlying statist dimension since what it materialises is the remission of the questions of ownership to its own dimension, which, considered and in a balanced manner, originates a legal regime situated beyond the property regime since, on the one hand, it enables access to resources, including their exploitation by extraction, and, on the other hand, on the basis of immaterial values, it makes it possible to use the resources for universal enjoyment. In both situations, it conditions or renders impossible the individual appropriation of these resources, functionally compressing in each situation the property rights of the immovable or movable property in which the classified natural assets are integrated. Thus, the classification of natural assets as Geological Resources implicitly admits that under the same asset or the same thing distinct legally protected legal interests may be involved and the public dominiality of the geological resources aimed at economic use or universal enjoyment is relevant.

 

 

Thus, the Geological Patrimony/Geological Resources set out in Law no. 54/2015 encompasses a unitary vision which represents a genus that brings together a heterogeneous set of species that translate into the unitary legal category of geological assets or resources that tend to give rise to a unitary application of a common regime to the entire territory based on categories of classification of these assets/resources without this meaning ruling out any other special regimes, especially those relating to cultural heritage or nature conservation and biodiversity.

 

Source: DSMP. Fascicular coral in limestone quarry. District of Leiria.

 

 

 

The breakdown of the Geological Patrimony/Geological Resources into their constituent elements presents a complex diversity of natural assets that, based on the existence of material support of a geological nature, cannot fail to meet the purposes of the legal regime itself, which can be grouped into three strands:

 

 

1. 1. On the one hand, the economic function emerges, being the extractive industry relevant to the economy and to an adequate management/exploitation of property;

 

2. On the other hand, the social function emerges anchored in the access and enjoyment of geological assets as witnesses of geodiversity;

 

3. 3. Finally, other functions emerge in which the knowledge, preservation and enhancement of these assets/resources are presented as instrumental objectives and the management for economic purposes is relevant to obtain revenue and to boost activities related to the intangible values of geological resources/geological patrimony.

 

It should also be noted that Law No. 54/2015 opens the door to the establishment of a network of classified areas and objects dedicated to the issues of geology and geodiversity. The classification therefore involves creating a register of geological resources comprising:

 

1. a) From an economic point of view: the areas under concession for the exploitation of geological resources (cfr. art. 5, no. 1);
2. b) From an intangible point of view, that is, values of a geological, mining or educational nature (see Article 5(2)):

                     (i) Areas, including natural cavities, with geological, mining or educational relevance (cf. art. 1, no. 3);

1.          ii) Underground cavities resulting from explorations (see Article 50);