Sweden’s Parliament Just Turned the Energy Dial to Nuclear
Sweden overturns its uranium mining ban as nuclear ambitions rise and global energy pressures intensify.
Editorial Team (ET)November 6, 2025
Sweden has taken a decisive leap into a new era of energy strategy with the Riksdag voting in favour of lifting the nation’s long standing ban on uranium mining. The legislative changes, set to take effect on 1 January, mark the end of a seven year prohibition that kept one of Europe’s richest uranium endowments locked beneath Swedish soil. This historic vote aligns Sweden’s mining policy with its escalating ambitions for nuclear power expansion and positions the country to play a far greater role in Europe’s shifting energy landscape.
The Riksdag’s statement was unequivocal. Uranium will now be officially recognised as a concession mineral, underscoring its strategic value to society. Activities involving small quantities of uranium will no longer require permits and will be shielded from municipal vetoes, a major regulatory roadblock that previously allowed local governments to block even low level uranium handling. In one move, Sweden has removed a structural obstacle that long discouraged companies from exploring or developing the resource.
This legislative shift overturns amendments to the Environmental Code introduced in 2018 that banned uranium exploration and mining altogether. Earlier this year the government began paving the way for this change, signalling a growing political recognition that Sweden’s future energy system will rely heavily on nuclear power. The vote confirms that sentiment. It puts uranium extraction on the same regulatory path as other concession minerals and integrates it directly into Sweden’s conventional mining permit processes.
Why the Decision Matters for Europe’s Energy Map
Sweden holds a geological advantage that few European nations can match. An estimated 27 percent of Europe’s known uranium reserves are contained within Swedish bedrock. For years those reserves were treated more like a political burden than a strategic asset. Today that narrative has been upended. With the European Union prioritising energy security, reducing dependence on external suppliers, and stabilising nuclear fuel supply chains, Sweden’s decision lands at a transformational moment.
Australian listed Aura Energy is one of the clearest beneficiaries of this shift. The company’s Häggån project, a polymetallic deposit containing vanadium, potash, and uranium, had been constrained by the prohibition on uranium extraction. The new policy places uranium under the Minerals Act as a concession mineral, adding economic depth to Aura’s development plans. Executive Chairman Phil Mitchell welcomed the vote with unmistakable optimism and said uranium could now become a significant contributor to both Sweden’s economy and its long term energy security.
Mitchell emphasised Sweden’s nuclear ambitions and the global momentum behind nuclear energy as reasons why opening up Sweden’s uranium resources makes economic and environmental sense. Treating uranium as waste, he argued, was both resource inefficient and counterproductive at a time when the world is seeking dependable, low carbon power generation. With uranium extraction now permitted, Aura Energy plans to revisit its project scope, integrate uranium into future development studies, and increase exploration work across the Häggån deposit.
