Examples of gold panning

Gold panning on state-owned land

Pirkko wants to start panning for gold in an area located in Lapland. Pirkko first checks with an authority such as Metsähallitus that the area is owned by the state. A gold panning permit from Tukes is required for gold panning on state-owned land, which is why Pirkko fills in all the sections of the gold panning permit application and sends the application with the necessary appendices to Tukes. Pirkko fills in the application with care, because she knows that if her application is fundamentally flawed, an application filled in by some other applicant in accordance with the Mining Act may be given priority.

Tukes processes the gold panning permit application and notifies Pirkko of its decision. Tukes also publishes all gold panning permit decisions on its website.
Once Pirkko receives Tukes’s decision, she can start following its instructions.

If the land had been owned by a private individual, Pirkko would have only needed permission from the landowner.

Gold panning on private land

Pentti wants to start panning for gold at his summer house. Pentti does not need a gold panning permit from Tukes, as he owns the land himself. Gold panning on private land only requires permission from the landowner. However, Pentti needs to check whether he needs other permits, such as an environmental permit pursuant to the Finnish Environmental Protection Act.