Supervision of Mining

SARA performs tasks related to mineral resources management and acts as a mining authority.

The Authority monitors compliance with the rules and regulations concerning the management of mineral and geothermal resources, environmental protection, landscape and nature conservation, as well as technical safety and fire protection. SARA’s responsibilities also include protecting the life and health of workers engaged in activities supervised by the Authority, and monitoring their working conditions.

Activities supervised by SARA and subject to licensing include the exploration and extraction of minerals, the exploration and exploitation of geothermal energy, the underground storage of hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide, non-military blasting, underground activities using mining techniques for non-mining purposes, the distribution of LPG containers and vessels and their filling facilities, and the construction and operation of pipelines for the transport of hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, and the distribution of natural gas.

Construction raw materials extracted and processed from some 800 open pits in Hungary, particularly gravel and sand, serve as important raw materials for the domestic building industry. The Mining Authority’s task is to promote, with the means at its disposal, the fullest possible utilization of the country’s mineral resources of construction raw materials, by mobilising existing capacities and establishing new extraction sites.

The aim of the Authority is to provide more targeted supervision to protect life, health, property rights and the environment, to enforce requirements relating to the management of mineral and geothermal energy resources, and to ensure the security of supply of the domestic building materials industry.

Mining is a sector of the national economy that provides work for almost 10,000 families and generates more than 200 billion HUF in added value annually. It is a sector where SARA’s activities can have a positive impact on industrial production, the labour market and the property market.