Country summaries
In Denmark, non-energy mineral resources are composed mainly of industrial and construction minerals, such as chalk, diatomaceous earth, limestone, clay and sand and gravel. There are no known economically exploitable reserves of metallic ores.
The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) is the Denmark national geological centre and according to the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Act (no. 536 of 6 June 2007) is required to collect data e.g. pursuant to the Act on Raw Materials, the Act on Danish subsoil (No. 889 of 200), and others. The majority of the work undertaken by GEUS on mineral resource assessment is focused on Greenland rather than Denmark. Information on Greenland has been provided in a separate country summary.
No information available.
GEUS maintains extensive archives and databanks. The main GEUS programmes and databases are as follows (http://www.geus.dk/geuspage-uk.htm) :
-National well database (Jupiter): Nationwide database of geological and hydrogeological information from over 240,000 wells.
-National geophysical database (GERDA): Nationwide geophysical database for environmental and resource area with information about the geophysical methods, exchange formats and options for data download.
-Oil & Gas Database: Data from deep appraisal and exploration wells in Denmark.
-Digital soil maps 1:200.000:
-Maps of Denmark: A collection of GEUS' main maps of the Danish area.
The above databases are used by many public agencies and private organisations in Denmark and abroad who need consolidated, quality checked, and instantly available data to establish the best possible and most reliable background for decision making in the field of geology.
The Danish Nature Agency is the relevant competent authority that monitors mine waste. The Executive Order No. 1150 of 28.11.2012 comprises the national mine waste legislation.
There are currently no closed and abandoned mining waste facilities in Denmark as defined by the Mining Waste Directive.
Legislative and Organisational Overview
In Denmark the Ministry of the Environment is the government agency in charge of the overall policies and administrative matters relating to the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) operates under the Ministry and is responsible for the operation, monitoring and control of waste management. EPA sets out the overall framework for waste management (http://eng.mst.dk/)
The Resources Strategy for Waste Management sets targets to ensure a move towards reuse and recycling. Waste management in Demark is governed by the Environmental Protection Act and specific waste management laws including:
- The Statutory Order No. 48 on Waste of 13 January 2010: sets the framework for waste incineration, environmental and efficiency report on incineration plant, and regulatory duty of municipalities
- The Statutory Order No. 1451 on Waste Incineration Plants of 20 December 2012
Landfill Stocks
Regulated by transposition of the Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC. The following orders relate to the landfill directive:
- Order No. 719 of 24/06/2011
- Executive Order No. 1049 of 28.08.2013
In Denmark only a small amount of waste ends up in landfill, whilst incineration remains the principal waste management option.
Waste statistics can also be obtained by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency through the New Waste Data System.
Waste Flows
Regulated by transposition of the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC. Waste management is regulated by Chapter 5 of the Environmental Protection Act and the Executive Order on Waste. The first national Waste Plan was developed in 1992, covering the period 1993-97. It included targets for all waste concerning recycling, incineration and landfilling (Fischer et al., 2012). Since then two plans covering the period 1998-2004 and 2005-2008 were developed and implemented. The current plan, the ‘Danish Waste Plan 2009-2012’, is the fourth national waste plan.
Waste flows are reported on Eurostat at (http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/waste/data)
A report on efforts towards meeting the demands of EU legislation on landfill and waste can be found at (http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/managing-municipal-solid-waste/den...)
Raw materials in the seabed are also in focus. GEUS has been working to map seabed landscapes and sediments, in Danish coastal waters as well as in the North Sea. In Denmark, sea-floor sediments and mineral resources in the inner Danish waters have been mapped at a scale of 1:100.000. In 2011, GEUS completed a major survey of the North Sea on behalf of the Danish Nature Agency.
Activities in the North Sea and the coastal waters included a survey of mineral resources and habitats on the seabed. In 2011, GEUS also launched its new national database for marine geological metadata (marine shallow geophysics – MARTA). This database contains all shallow seismic data acquired in Danish waters, i.e. data which are to be reported to GEUS pursuant to the Mineral Resources Act. In 2012, the Danish Nature Agency carried out marine geological surveys in three large areas of the North Sea, totalling 6,300 km2, to establish a basis for invitation to tenders for exploration and extraction of raw materials
Information on Greenland is provided in a separate country summary.
The Faroe Islands has no known mineral resources.
None.