Protected mineral deposit area

What is a protected mineral deposit area?

A protected mineral deposit area (chránené ložiskové územie) is a zone that keeps a reserved mineral deposit available for mining. It is set under the Slovak mining act, Act 44/1988 Zb. (banský zákon), in § 16 to § 19.

The area protects the deposit, not the building. Its purpose is to stop structures that have nothing to do with mining from making the mining of the deposit impossible or harder (§ 16(1) and (2)). A plot can lie inside the area with no mine beneath it, so the term says nothing about whether the ground is stable. For that question, see undermined territory.

Which deposits can have one, and who sets it?

Only deposits of reserved minerals (vyhradené nerasty) qualify (§ 16(3)). The list in § 3(1) covers, among others, all kinds of coal, oil and natural gas, ores from which metals can be made industrially, and rock salt. A deposit becomes a reserved deposit (výhradné ložisko) when the Ministry of the Environment issues a certificate, after it approves a final report with the reserve calculation (§ 6(1)). The protected area is set during the geological exploration, after that certificate exists (§ 16(3)).

The district mining office (obvodný banský úrad) sets, changes and cancels the area by decision (§ 17(1) and (6)). Before deciding, it takes the opinion of the nature protection authority and relies on a binding opinion of the building office (§ 17(1)). The proceedings start on a request from an organisation, a state authority or a municipality (§ 17(2)). The organisation must attach the certificate of the reserved deposit and a proposal for the boundaries (§ 17(2)). The municipality where the area lies, and any municipality whose territory it would touch, are parties (§ 17(3)). The boundaries are marked in the planning documents and in the cadastre of real estate (§ 17(5)).

How does the protected area limit building on a plot?

A structure that has nothing to do with mining may not be set up in the area unless a binding opinion under the mining act allows it (§ 18(1)). If the public interest requires such a structure there, it must disturb the use of the deposit as little as possible (§ 18(2)). Blocking or hindering the mining of the minerals listed in § 3(1)(a) to (d), such as coal and metal ores, is allowed only in specially justified cases, for example for an extraordinarily important structure or where only a small amount of reserves would be affected (§ 18(2)).

In practice the area is a restriction handled through a procedure, not a flat ban. Whether a given house can go ahead depends on the binding opinion the district mining office gives for that structure.

Which authority comments on a building under the 2025 building act?

Act 25/2025 Z. z. (Stavebný zákon) has applied since 1 April 2025. A building may be built only in line with the binding part of the spatial plan and with the interests protected by special laws, which affected authorities express in binding opinions (§ 21(1)). For a structure in a protected deposit area that has nothing to do with mining, the district mining office is an affected authority in the proceedings on the building intent. The mining act, in the version effective from 1 January 2026, says so in § 19 in the new wording. Under Act 25/2025, an affected authority that protects an interest under a special law issues a binding opinion on the building intent (§ 21(2) and (3)(a)). The building office runs the proceedings on the building intent.

The procedure names changed on 1 April 2025, but this term did not. Section 84(11) of Act 25/2025 maps the old names to the new ones, as the table below shows. The mining act was not repealed by Act 25/2025, and the repeal clause in § 86 does not name it.

How is a protected deposit area different from undermined territory?

The two concepts are often confused, but they answer different questions. A protected deposit area is about keeping a deposit minable. Undermined territory is about ground above underground mine workings, where mining can affect the surface and any building on it.

A plot can lie inside a protected deposit area with no workings beneath it, and a plot above old workings may lie outside any protected area. Check both.

Common misconceptions

• It means there is a mine under the plot. It does not. The area protects a deposit, and no working has to exist above it.
• It is an absolute ban on building. Structures unrelated to mining need a binding opinion, and that opinion can allow them (§ 18(1)).
• The area lasts forever. The district mining office cancels it when the reasons for protecting the deposit have lapsed (§ 17(6)).

How do I find out whether a plot lies in a protected deposit area?

The Deposits application of the Geofond registries at the State Geological Institute of Dionýz Štúr (ŠGÚDŠ) shows protected deposit areas as a layer. ŠGÚDŠ states that it updates the data continuously from the decisions of the district mining offices that change the boundaries of mining areas and protected deposit areas. The page does not say that the map is legally binding, so confirm the result with the district mining office. The decision itself is the source for the exact boundary (§ 17(5)). The geological act also tells planning authorities to proceed in line with geological results on mineral deposits (act 569/2007 Z. z., § 20 ods. 1).

What should I check before buying or building on such a plot?

Check the status of the plot before you buy it or commission a design. A general land due diligence covers the same ground, and the protected area is one item on that list.

If the plot is inside the area, bring the district mining office into the design from the start. A structure unrelated to mining cannot be set up without its binding opinion (§ 18(1)).