The first four articles passed: Mineral exploration in forests will be free of charge.

The first four articles of the "Bill on Amendments to Certain Laws," which include regulations related to energy and mining, have been approved in Parliament. The amendments will now allow free mineral exploration in forests and urgent expropriation of strategic and critical materials.

With the regulation in question, an amendment was made to the provision of the Environmental Law regulating environmental impact assessment and the phrase 'or Environmental Impact Assessment Not Required Decision' was removed from the law.

Unless a 'Positive Environmental Impact Assessment Decision' is obtained, approvals, permits, incentives, construction and usage licenses for projects cannot be issued, investment cannot be initiated for the project, and tenders cannot be issued. However, this will not prevent applications for incentive, approval, permission and license processes.

The regulations included in the first four articles of the law adopted are as follows:

*The environmental compatibility guarantee included in the definition of license fee in the law has been removed, and the rehabilitation fee has been adjusted separately.

According to the new regulation, the new license fee definition is as follows:

“The amount that must be deposited into the general directorate’s accounting unit account by the end of January each year, calculated as shown in the relevant tables by multiplying the base price by the coefficients determined according to the number of calendar years the license remains in force, the mineral group, type and area sizes; and recorded as revenue in the general directorate’s budget for exploration licenses; 30 percent in the general directorate’s budget for operating licenses, and 70 percent in the general directorate’s budget.”

*According to the regulation, the coordinates of special environmental protection zones, areas protected under the National Parks Law, wetlands, wildlife protection and development areas, forests, culture and tourism protection and development zones declared under the Tourism Encouragement Law, tourism centers, areas that need to be protected under the Coastal Law, 1st degree military prohibited zones, areas with 1/5000 scale zoning plan approved, protected areas within the scope of the Law on the Protection of Cultural and Natural Assets, and investment areas such as power plants, organized industrial zones, industrial zones, oil, natural gas and geothermal pipelines allocated for non-mining purposes and for which the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs has given its approval will be reported to the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs by the relevant institutions.

*Before issuing a permit for these areas, excluding forests, the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs will consult the relevant institution regarding the project and request a permit. The relevant institution will complete its assessment and respond to the permit request within three months. If no response is received within this period, the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs will grant the relevant institution an additional one-month extension.

If no decision is communicated by the end of this period, the permit will be deemed granted. The granted permit will remain in effect for the period of evaluation for conversion to an operating license or for extension, but the administration will be able to request changes to the project or rehabilitation project.

*Permits for the exploration and operation of minerals within state forests, as well as for facilities, roads, energy, water, communications, and infrastructure facilities required for mining activities, will be granted free of charge within three months upon request by the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs for a period of 24 months, in accordance with the provisions of the Forestry Law. The permit period will be extended by 12 months upon request by the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs.

*The commitment note regarding the free permit obtained by the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs will be given to the General Directorate of Forestry, but the fees to be collected in case of the operation of the free permit granted, its transfer to real or legal persons or having it operated, will be deposited into the special budget account of the General Directorate of Forestry and the paid commitment note will be given to the General Directorate of Forestry within one month at the latest.

*Permits issued before this regulation comes into force will continue for the duration of the license and will be transferred to the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs within six months.

*Exploration activities will also be permitted in areas permitted for exploration, excluding force majeure and restrictive legal provisions. Documents such as institutional opinions and environmental impact assessment documents, which are required by law during the permitting process, will be obtained by the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs. A permit issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will be considered as an affirmative opinion for environmental impact assessment purposes.

*Mining activities will continue even if the area becomes subject to permit after the license is issued, but if cultural assets are detected in the licensed area, the approval of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will be sought for mining activities to continue.

*If the Ministry does not give an appropriate opinion, compensation in the amount of investment expenses calculated by the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs will be paid to the license holder from the budget of the administration in whose favor the restriction decision was made.

*Environmental impact assessments will be conducted by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. Relevant institutions will submit their opinions within three months of the environmental impact assessment. If institutions request additional time, they will be granted a maximum of one month.

*Any institution that completes all its assessments and fails to submit an opinion within this timeframe will be deemed positive. Institutions that have issued permits will not be able to submit a negative opinion during the environmental impact assessment process. For mining activities that receive a "Positive Environmental Impact Assessment Decision," the relevant institution will assume any financial obligations and complete all other procedures within one month at the latest.

*In cases where Group IV strategic or critical minerals are not permitted by the relevant institution, the final decision on the permit will be made by the board, based on the overriding public interest, upon application to the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, taking into account factors such as the site's reserve potential, location, type, and economic contribution. If the board decides in favor of mining activity, the relevant institution will submit the permit decision to the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs within one month, and the license will be issued.

*The Mining Law's provision titled "Strategic or Critical Minerals" is being revised. Accordingly, minerals that are essential inputs for industrial production and pose a high supply risk, and that could result in serious economic problems or security vulnerabilities in the event of a supply disruption or significant price increases, will be considered critical minerals.

*Mines that are of high importance for national security and economic prosperity and whose supply may be restricted due to internal or external factors will be considered strategic minerals.

*Strategic or critical minerals will be determined by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, after consulting the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Industry and Technology, the Ministry of Trade and relevant public institutions and organizations.

*For mining activities related to strategic or critical minerals, urgent expropriation may be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Expropriation Law.

*The President may decide that license holders will stockpile a certain amount or proportion of strategic or critical minerals, provided that this does not exceed 10 percent of the previous year's production amount.