Ancillary facilities associated with quarries consist of installations and workshops designed to support activities that are integral or complementary to the exploitation of mineral resources. These facilities undertake operations related to the extraction and processing of the extracted materials, falling within the scope of the extractive industry and classified under CAE Division 08.

These industrial facilities are subject to the industrial licensing framework established under the Sistema da Indústria Responsável (SIR), approved by Decree-Law no. 73/2015 of 11 May, as amended, and must be duly foreseen in the approved Quarry Plan.

Coordinating Authority:

Within the scope of mineral resources, the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (DGEG) acts as the coordinating authority for the licensing of industrial establishments whose primary activity corresponds to the following CAE Rev. 4 subclasses:

In accordance with paragraph 2 of Annex III of Decree-Law no. 73/2015, the licensing of secondary activities under SIR is also the responsibility of the authority competent for the main activity, provided that such activities are directly related and ancillary to the quarry’s principal activity (CAE Division 08).

These include, namely:

 

• Crushing operations;
• Ready-mixed concrete production plants;
• Asphalt mixture production plants;
• Other activities demonstrably associated with extractive operations.

 

The integration of these activities within quarry sites contributes to optimizing industrial and logistical capacity, as well as to reducing the environmental impacts associated with extraction and material transport.

 

The submission of applications must be carried out through the electronic platform available at the «Balcão do empreendedor».

User guidance documentation for the SIR platform is made available by IAPMEI.