Unlocking critical resources: France's inventory and mining code reform

France launched a new inventory of its mineral resources in February 2025, a five-year initiative led by the BRGM (Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières). According to BRGM, in continental France, the selected areas either contain known resources - whose boundaries or potential extensions remain poorly defined - or show clear promise for critical and strategic metals, while French Guiana is rich in a wide range of mineral resources, including gold, copper, lead, zinc and lithium.

This inventory is being carried out in a broader European context, following the enactment of the European Critical Raw Materials Act, which aims to strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy and secure access to key raw materials essential for the green and digital transitions.

It also coincides with the completion of the long-awaited reform of the French Mining Code, originally initiated by Law No. 2021-1104 of 22 August 2021 on Climate and Resilience. The reform was finalized with the enactment of several implementation decrees on 27 August 2025. Among them, Decree No. 2025-851 on mining and underground storage licences (Decree) - supplemented by a Ministerial Order dated 3 September 2025 - establishes the regulatory framework governing the issuance, renewal, and extension of such licences.

This reform, in discussion since 2012, pursues three key objectives:

• Aligning the Mining Code with environmental principles;
• Enhancing legal certainty for mining operations; and
• Improving transparency in the licensing process for mining and underground storage activities.

 

KEY FEATURES OF THE MINING LICENCES REFORM

Early-stage environmental review requirements

Applicants for exploration licences must now submit an environmental, economic and social report. Applicants for concessions are required to provide a feasibility study covering the same dimensions. The previous Mining Code was widely criticised for its insufficient consideration of environmental impacts, as details of the proposed works to be undertaken were only disclosed at the works authorisation stage. As a result, licences were often granted without a clear understanding of the techniques and scope of operations. This situation had also led to legal uncertainty, particularly in the recent years, due to the implementation of the EU directives requiring environmental assessment for projects, plans and programs and their interpretation by courts. Under the new framework, environmental impacts are assessed at the licensing stage, enabling the administration to conduct a thorough review early in the process. The Decree specifies the required content of both the environmental, economic and social report and the feasibility study.

Strengthening transparency and local engagement

The revised Mining Code introduces several provisions to strengthen public engagement and transparency. Previously, licences were granted with limited public input, and affected communities were often unaware or unable to comment on proposed projects.

Now, local authorities must be informed promptly upon submission of a mining licence application and will be formally consulted. Public participation procedures are mandatory for exploration licences, while the granting and renewal of concessions will be subject to public inquiry.

State prerogative to refuse mining licences

The State may refuse to grant, extend or renew a licence if there is serious doubt that the proposed operations can be conducted without causing significant harm to worker safety, public health, infrastructure, or the environment.

Such refusals must follow an adversarial procedure, and applicants will be given the opportunity to amend their applications.

Extending exploration timelines for greater certainty

Exploration licences may now be granted for a maximum duration of 15 years. This extended term addresses significant issues under the previous regime, where exploration licences were limited to an initial five-year term, renewable twice for a total of up to 15 years. However, the licence itself did not authorize exploration works, which required separate approval from the préfet (the State’s local representative).

Due to the time needed to obtain the exploration works authorization, licence holders often lacked sufficient time to carry out exploration activities before the licence expired. Additionally, the administration’s review of licences’ extension requests was frequently slow, with approvals sometimes granted only shortly before the end of the licence’s validity period. The new 15-year term is designed to resolve these timing and procedural challenges.

New requirements for exploration licence applications

Applications for exploration licences must now include more detailed and structured documentation. In addition to the required environmental, economic, and social report, the application must contain:

• A presentation of preliminary studies conducted to define the exploration program;
• A phased work schedule, including a firm phase, and an optional conditional phase;
• A commitment to a minimum expenditure for the firm phase;
• A provisional budget for the conditional phase, if applicable;
• A financing plan detailing how the financial commitment will be funded;
• A budget aligned with the applicant’s financial capacity, including any guarantees, sureties, or third-party commitments;
• Optionally, a financial operations plan with a projected timeline.

Bridging exploration and exploitation - the development phase

A holder of an exploration licence who wishes to apply for a concession may either submit a direct application or first enter a development phase.

This phase is intended to assess the technical, environmental, and social feasibility of the proposed exploitation project, in consultation with local stakeholders. The application for the development phase must include:

• A technical report demonstrating the discovery of an exploitable deposit;
• A description of the proposed exploitation program based on current knowledge;
• A plan and timeline for public consultations.

The ministerial order granting the development phase will specify its duration.

The development phase includes a public consultation aimed at discussing various implementation options and necessary external infrastructure, evaluating their environmental, economic, and social impacts to define optimal project conditions. This phase concludes with either the submission of a concession application, or a declaration of project abandonment.

Raising the bar for concession approvals

The reform introduces a more rigorous review process for concession applications, reinforcing governmental oversight and ensuring that projects comply with stringent environmental and social standards from the outset. Under the previous framework, holders of exploration licences were automatically entitled to concessions for exploitable deposits discovered within the permit area during the licence term. In contrast, the revised Mining Code stipulates that only the holder of an exploration licence may submit a concession application - without a competitive tender - limited to substances located within the perimeter of that licence.

Furthermore, the decree establishes strict criteria for evaluating concession applications, thereby introducing greater uncertainty regarding the final grant of concessions. The applications will be assessed based on:

• The quality of preliminary studies used to define the proposed work program;
• The adequacy of financial and technical resources to exploit and rehabilitate the deposit;
• The robustness of the financing plan for pre-production investments;
• The applicant’s demonstrated competence and effectiveness under previously held licences.

This marks a shift toward a more rigorous and discretionary review process.

Accelerating the works authorization process

The decree expressly provides and organizes the possibility to file simultaneously a concession application and an environmental permit application - the latter allowing to perform the work once granted.

Overall, in this situation, the concession application file must be supplemented with the information required for environmental permit.

Aligning concessions with national resource policy

The initial duration of a concession is set based on the expected depletion timeline of the deposit, with a maximum limit of 50 years. The concession holder is required to maximize the final yield of the deposit.

Extensions may be granted, up to a cumulative limit of 25 years, subject to reassessment of remaining resources and an evaluation of the request’s alignment with national policy objectives for resource management and subsurface use.

A request for concession extension shall be subject to a competitive procedure in the following cases:

• If there is no exploitation or insufficient exploitation of the deposit;
• If the operator has failed to adequately consider worker safety, public health, infrastructure, or environmental protection;
• If the proposed extension involves techniques that do not meet the requirement to maximize the deposit’s potential; or
• If the deposit could be exploited differently in line with the national policy on resource and subsurface use.