The Austrian Minerals Plan (AMRP)
About this good practice
AMRP is prepared as a national master plan to secure supply of mineral resources and to serve as a planning basis for future mining innovations in Austria.
Many areas containing mineral occurrences are in contradiction with land use planning. Some occurrences, proved as worth to be protected to not coinciding with conflict zones in land use and innovation. The safe and sufficient minerals supply is a core task of the extractive industry. However, the public sector is responsible for providing basic spatial data such as general geo-scientific data and information that allows an economic evaluation of the raw materials. The purpose of the AMRP was therefore to perform the groundwork required in preparation for activities by private enterprises. This involved systematically and objectively identifying potential raw materials zones (Phase 1) and then after carefully weighing up competing land use interests in a mineral planning process designed to avoid conflicts with raw materials extraction, enshrining these zones in regional planning to ensure their conflict free future use (Phase 2). This requires the protection of deposits by the federal government and provinces by means of measures to safeguard raw materials, which is done either on a demand – or supply- oriented basis. According to the federal constitution, regional planning is the responsibility of the provinces and each of the nine provinces has its own regional planning laws. At present the regional planning authoritie
Resources needed
The financial or even human resources are hard to quantify. But as there were many different institutions working for several years, especially on the baseline study the effort might be quite high. Nevertheless the results obtained are giving the basis for all future developments.
Evidence of success
The “Austrian mineral Resources Plan” was identified as a “Best Practice Model” by the European Commission, as an example for an active minerals planning policy. In addition several provinces follow the recommendations of AMRP fully or at least partially (e.g. “suitability zones” or “mineral safeguard areas” identified in the Lower Austrian gravel master plans)
Potential for learning or transfer
The Austrian Mineral Resources Plan gives a methodological approach for identification and evaluation of the mineral occurrences, taking into account the different methodology for construction minerals and occurrences of metallic ores, industrial minerals or mineral fuels (except hydrocarbons). Special attention is payed to the systematic process to identify conflict reduced zones and the different safeguarding processes by the land use authorities of the federal provinces.
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
Bundesministerium für Nachhaltigkeit und Tourismus (BMNT, Federal Ministry for Sustainablity and Tourism, formerly Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy (BMWFW))