29.08.2025
Europe's largest infrastructure project, the high-speed Rail Baltica railway, has reached a stage in Estonia where half of the main route is already under construction. At the same time as construction is proceeding at full speed, there have been increasing claims that new quarries for construction minerals could be opened to cover the railway's material needs. The facts speak differently. The Environmental Board and the Estonian Geological Survey say straight out: this train has already left.
Estonia has abundant mineral reserves, but accessing them through new quarries is a slow and complicated process, the pace of which is no longer compatible with the Rail Baltica construction schedule. In addition to nature conservation, the establishment of mines in Estonia is a slow and strictly regulated process.
“On average, the procedure takes 248 days,” says Reet Siilaberg, Head of the Circular Economy Department at the Environmental Board. “The Earth’s Crust Act stipulates that the processing time for an application for a mining permit is 365 days, which can be extended if necessary and justified.” She emphasized that in practice, many procedures take even longer.
In addition, the impact of the planned activity on the environment must be assessed. “During the procedure, there may be a need to specify the significance of the impact of the planned activity on protected species and habitats by involving external experts in the field,” explains Siilaberg. “Since there is a shortage of experts in the field (ornithologists, hydrogeologists, plant scientists, etc.) in Estonia, the queue for work is sometimes long and the procedure is pending for a long time.”
The word of the local government is the law
In Estonia, the decision to open new quarries is not made solely by the state, but primarily by the local community. “If the local government does not give its consent to the mining, the Environmental Board cannot issue a permit,” emphasizes Siilaberg. The conditions that the local government wants to set as a prerequisite for granting a permit are often the cause of the dispute. Opening a new mine today would mean that it would only be completed years later – by the time the sleepers should already be in the ground.
“In recent years, in Rapla County and Harju County, there have been the most requests to open new quarries in connection with the construction of the Rail Baltica route,” Siilaberg states. “Today, residents across Estonia are already so aware that there is opposition from residents in almost all procedures.”
This is also the reason why a separate thematic plan has been launched in Harju County to find a balance between local interests and infrastructure construction needs. In the Estonian legal environment, a refusal by a local government can completely prevent the issuance of a mining permit – one word “no” is enough.
Opening a mine is therefore a process that will take years. For a high-speed railway, where traffic will start as early as 2030, this timeframe does not work.
Closer, faster, cleaner: how Rail Baltica is changing mining
In 2020-2025, 101 geological survey permits and 45 mining permits have been granted for the construction of Rail Baltica, making a total of 146 permits. In terms of environmental policy, railway construction has also brought about novel and positive solutions. For example, from an environmental perspective, opening new quarries close to the construction site is favoured, shorter transport distances mean a smaller CO₂ footprint, and intensive, short-term use reduces the duration of disruption for local residents. “The construction of Rail Baltica has activated the establishment of new quarries near the route, which is favourable from an environmental perspective,” explained Reet Siilaberg.
However, even such temporary quarries, planned for the construction of Rail Baltica, cannot be built everywhere. "Especially in the protection zone of animal accesses and forest compensation areas, they cannot be built," Siilaberg emphasized. This is also the reason why some applications lead to litigation - the wishes may not coincide with nature conservation and spatial planning restrictions.
Estonian Geological Survey: There is no need to fear the depletion of mineral resources needed for construction
In Estonia, construction minerals are mostly abundant, but access to them is limited. “We still have very large quantities of rocks and sediments suitable for construction minerals, and there is no reason to fear that they will run out if consumption continues at the current rate,” says Tiit Kaasik, head of the Mineral Resources Department of the Geological Survey of Estonia. “However, the availability of mineral resources is becoming a problem in the sense that, for various reasons, mining permits are not being issued for a sufficient amount of mineral resources, and as a result, there are still problems with security of supply.”
For example, the situation in Harju County is critical, especially with the security of supply of high-grade limestone, which is widespread in Northern Estonia, as demand is high, but the reserves allocated for mining are starting to run out. “There is still a very large amount of rock suitable for high-grade limestone, but the challenge is obtaining permits to mine it,” Kaasik notes. The state has initiated a thematic plan for Harju County’s mineral resources, among other reasons.
Although sand is found everywhere, its security of supply also varies from region to region – for example, in Rapla County, high-quality sand has to be imported. The construction of major infrastructure, such as Rail Baltica, requires all the main construction minerals. “Construction minerals are mined primarily for Estonia’s own needs,” Kaasik emphasizes, adding that approximately 80% of them go to the construction, maintenance and repair of infrastructure.
The story was first published as a content marketing story in Õhtuleht on August 29, 2025, 10:46
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