How much does a gold license cost? What is the punishment for illegal gold mining? Is gold mining allowed in Russia by private individuals?

In this article:

In the Russian Federation, gold mining by individuals is prohibited. A bill that would allow all citizens to engage in small-scale mining has been under consideration in the Duma for almost seven years! Meanwhile, illegal gold mining in Russia is thriving. According to some sources, it amounts to up to ten percent of the total volume of gold mining in the country.

There was a short period in the history of the Russian Federation when the mining of precious metals and stones was allowed to all Russian citizens. In 1992, such a bill was adopted. The gold collection offices in Buryatia and Magadan started working belatedly.

And in 1998, the law was repealed: from that time on, only organizations that received licenses could engage in gold mining.

Illegal gold mining

In 2002, Governor Krasnoyarsk Territory Alexander Lebed developed amendments and additions to the law “On Precious Metals and Precious Stones”. Lebed proposed mining gold not only to organizations, but also to individuals who should obtain licenses for this. He was supported by the governor of the Magadan region, Valentin Tsvetkov. The bill was submitted to the State Duma, but it was not adopted.

The new bill “On the extraction of alluvial gold by individual entrepreneurs” under number 429535-5 appeared in 2010. It was adopted in the first reading, then the situation stalled. Meanwhile, the law is needed, and many in the gold-mining regions from the Urals to Magadan are waiting for it.

The number of deposits and mines in the country that are not of industrial importance, but contain some amount of gold, numbers in the thousands. Mining gold in them is profitable only for small entrepreneurs. A large organization will not go there, because it is not economically profitable for it to work at a facility where, for example, gold reserves are less than 10 kilograms. Therefore, such small deposits become targets for illegal mining of precious metals.

In Russia, illegal miners extract metal from placer deposits. Few people are engaged in mining in vein deposits. This practice is common in Kazakhstan, where people risk their lives by climbing into abandoned mines or paying security to allow them into protected mines.

A hundred years ago, 90 percent of the precious metal was mined from placers; today, no more than 14 percent. But industrial gold mining is mainly focused on the development of vein deposits.

Predators or prospectors?

Predators are people who mine gold without licenses or permits. The word was known even in pre-revolutionary Russia, since even in those days not everyone could obtain a license.

The predator's equipment has changed little over the century. These are a pick, a shovel, a tray, primitive devices for searching for gold. Few people use expensive modern means, as they may be taken away. And not only law enforcement agencies, but also crime.

All predators dream of getting rich, but only a few succeed. Even if a black miner attacked a gold-bearing area, selling what he found is a big problem. Most often, the predator himself becomes a victim of crime or envious fellow miners.

On the Internet you can easily find a lot of stories about successful miners who received prison sentences for their efforts, and whose gold was confiscated. A man in Buryatia washed gold all summer and washed about three kilograms. He was caught on the highway by FSB officers. Most likely, the lucky predator was betrayed by his fellow prospectors. The man was given a two-year suspended sentence and his gold was confiscated.

Mining precious metals using a tray is hard work. But he is illegal in Russia. Many miners die at the hands of bandits or in the taiga, left without help.

People do not become predators because they have a good life. Many people are driven to search not by a thirst for adventure, but by unemployment, a natural desire to feed their family.

Legalization of alluvial gold mining could solve a lot of problems.

eliminate unemployment in many localities;
attract people to the regions of Siberia and the Far East, where there is now a massive outflow of population;
increase the production of precious metals in the country;
fill the budget by donating legal gold to the population.

The artisanal mining method is very promising in many regions of Russia. Prospectors often find new deposits; such precedents have often happened in other countries. Many residents of Buryatia and the Magadan region are ready to look for gold in non-industrial placers, but only one factor holds them back - their activities will be considered illegal.

The best option for legalizing illegal gold mining is to sell licenses, as in Australia. A license to search and mine gold here can be purchased online for $30. Many tourists are attracted by this simple scheme, and they go to the fifth continent in search of gold. Australian statistics are modestly silent on how much each tourist finds on average, but any discovery of a nugget becomes the property of the press. Due to this, tourism in Australia is thriving.

Artisanal gold mining is illegal in many countries. Millions of people in Africa and Asia wash sand every day or climb into adits and mines at their own peril and risk. In Mongolia and Kazakhstan, black mining is widespread, but few people are punished for their activities. In Peru, a quarter of gold is mined illegally.

Illegal gold mining is rampant in South Africa and Ghana. According to some reports, about a million ounces of gold are mined illegally in South Africa alone. But miners cannot sell gold at normal prices in their country and go to Zimbabwe. Gold miners earn no more than five dollars a day.

Illegal business does not bring income to diggers and the state in any country in the world. Developing countries that are interested in developing gold mining are relaxing laws and encouraging gold mining. In many civilized countries, they do not neglect artisanal mining of precious metals and sell licenses without red tape and delays.

Punishment for illegal mining

If a miner extracted 20 grams of gold in the taiga through tireless labor and was caught red-handed, will he face criminal liability? Most likely no.

Illegal trafficking in precious metals in our country was partially decriminalized in 2011.

According to Article 19.14 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, administrative liability is provided for violation of the established rules for the extraction, production, use, circulation, receipt, accounting and storage of precious metals.

But the gold will be confiscated and a fine of 3 to 5 thousand rubles will be imposed. There is no provision for confiscation of equipment.

Criminal liability arises in the event of discovery of precious metals in large quantities - in the amount of more than a million rubles.

But if a prospector is caught at someone else’s mine, he is unlikely to get away with a fine; in this case, he faces criminal liability. After all, the deposit is someone’s property.

You cannot enter territories with reserves suitable for industrial development. Licenses are given only for searching in the dumps of former industries, or for developing unpromising areas. Another snag is the ban on the use of heavy equipment, such as bulldozers. A license for gold mining to a private individual is given under the conditions of his use of hand tools. You won’t be able to extract much valuable metal from technogenic placers like this. Price of a gold mining license The cost of a gold mining license depends on the route to obtaining it. There are a number of law firms that undertake to draw up papers for an amount from 100,000 to 200,000 thousand rubles.

The customer only pays. Hired persons fill out the documents and knock on the necessary thresholds. At the same time, they promise to get a perpetual license, and not a permit for a couple of decades. Advertisements “I’ll buy a gold mining license” are not uncommon.

Gold mining license

MET.

Placers.
Processing of secondary raw materials.
Handicraft methods.
Mining.

OJSC "Polyus Gold"

The leader of the gold mining industry in Russia and one of the world's largest miners, the gold mining company Polyus Gold develops alluvial and ore deposits in the Krasnoyarsk Territory (Olympiadinskoye, Titimukhta, Blagodatnoe deposits), Irkutsk (Verninskoye and Chertovo Koryto, Zapadnoe, deposits in the Vitim River basin area), Magadan (mainly Natalka) and Amur regions.

OJSC Polyus Gold, according to the latest data, has reserves of around 3,500 tons (B+C1+C2). Due to the fact that the number of explored deposits is growing, the gold mining company Polyus is constantly updating vacancies, especially many open vacancies in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Magadan and Irkutsk regions. Moreover, OJSC gold mining company Polyus Gold does not plan to slow down the pace of its development, which means that the positive dynamics in the company will continue for a long period.

In 2011, Polyus Gold produced 1,386 thousand troy ounces of gold, which is still the undisputed leader in the industry.

OJSC "Severstal"

The largest metallurgical company in Russia, the main activity of which is the extraction, processing and sale of raw materials for ferrous metallurgy. The company's steel production volumes are truly impressive - more than 15 million.

Gold mining by individual entrepreneurs: myths and reality

tons of steel (data for 2011). On this moment Severstal enterprises are located in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Italy, France, the USA, Great Britain and Africa, and employ more than 70 thousand people.

But what is interesting to us is that Severstal is actively developing its gold mining segment, and today Severstal includes the following gold mining companies - Buryat Zoloto, Nord Gold, as well as the Northern Gold Mining Company and Celtic Resources. Moreover, the company’s management does not want to stop there, and apparently intends to further expand its gold mining segment, acquiring assets in Russia, Kazakhstan and West Africa - in the past two years alone, the company has acquired a number of operating mines and a controlling stake in High River Gold.

Thanks to the active purchase of gold mining assets, Severstal managed to take 2nd place in terms of production volumes in 2011, producing 589 thousand troy ounces of gold. Well, we wish Severstal to grow the same way the gold rate is growing today and in the long term.

Kinross Gold

Gold mining companies in Yakutia, for the most part, belong to this Canadian conglomerate, which ranks 6th in the world in gold mining. Over the past year, Kinross Gold extracted 554 thousand troy ounces of gold from Russian mineral resources.

The deposits are concentrated mainly in Chukotka and the Magadan region, one of the largest is Kupol, whose gold reserves exceed 400 tons.

Group of companies "Petropavlovsk"

Gold mining enterprises in Russia are increasingly beginning to develop deposits in the Amur region.

One of the leaders in this area is the Petropavlovsk Group of Companies, whose assets are located in the Amur Region, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Jewish Autonomous Region. It should be noted that the group includes not only gold mining enterprises, but also metallurgical, construction, design and scientific structures.

As noted on the official website of the Petropavlovsk Group of Companies, after registration on the London Stock Exchange in the early 2000s, the gold mining enterprise of the industrial group is confidently increasing its turnover. For example, in 2011, more than 500 thousand troy ounces of gold were produced, which allowed it to continue to remain among the top three leaders in this industry.

JSC "Polymetal"

Shares of gold mining companies of the Polymetal group have increased significantly in price over the past year due to the fact that the company has become fourth in the world in silver mining. The core of the group is formed by gold mining companies of the Krasnoyarsk Territory; in addition to them, the mines of the Magadan Region and Kazakhstan make up a significant share.

The entire complex for putting new fields into operation is carried out by the company independently, starting from geological exploration and ending with the construction of technical structures. The corporation's total gold reserves are approaching 600 tons.

Last year's production volume amounted to more than 440 thousand troy ounces of gold.

OJSC "Yuzhuralzoloto"

The gold mining company Zolotaya Zvezda and Yuzhuralzoloto form OJSC YuGK, one of the largest Russian enterprises in the industry. All the company's assets are concentrated within the Russian Federation - these are deposits in the Chelyabinsk region, the Republic of Khakassia and the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

Gold ore mining is carried out both open-pit, i.e. quarry and closed mine method. Total gold reserves reach 250 tons.

In general, in recent years the company's shares have shown stable growth; the policy pursued by the company suggests that such trends will continue in the future. Over the past year, JSC "UGK" produced more than 200 thousand troy ounces.

OJSC "Vysochaishy" (GV Gold)

OJSC “Vysochaishy” is also one of the industry leaders and is one of the ten largest Russian companies. All geological exploration and production activities are carried out in the Irkutsk region and Yakutia - the company has an area of over 600 square meters. km.

This gold mining company is opening a large number of various types of vacancies, because in several years Vysochaishy plans to increase production volumes to 16 tons/year. In addition, the company purchased the latest Japanese equipment, which will reduce the cost of mining the yellow metal, and perhaps become a leader in this indicator.

It is interesting that “Vysochaishy” operates its own licensed Training and Course Plant, where personnel are trained in more than 20 specialties, so the company itself “forges” the professionals of the required sharpening. By the way, regarding the “necessary sharpening” - if you pay attention to the VTB 24 bank whose deposits are very diverse, you will definitely find something that suits you!

Gold production volumes amounted to about 125 thousand troy ounces in 2011.

Highland Gold Mining Limited (HRGM)

This is a Bashkir gold mining company, which, however, has its head office in Canada, which is due to the fact that this is where the mined gold is mainly supplied. Gold mining companies such as HRGM have long ceased to be the property of one state; at the present time, the market is ruled by multinational conglomerates.

Large scale will allow the company to be more competitive and introduce expensive innovative technologies earlier. The total proven reserves of gold in the territory of the company's mines are about 300 tons.

Gold mining license

metal must be obtained only by the surface method;
It is prohibited to use explosives in work;
You can use a layer of earth up to five meters deep.

Today, gold mining in Russia by private individuals (a license will avoid problems with the law) can result in a fine of several thousand rubles.

Attention: In this case, the miner will also be left without tools purchased specifically for obtaining precious metal. And if it turns out that the suspect has gold worth more than one million rubles, there is also criminal liability.

How to get a gold mining license

InfoDo recent years the law openly stood on the side of large companies. Reasons for the continued work of private gold miners Nevertheless, technical and legal restrictions could not and cannot stop private gold miners. Firstly, not all deposits are suitable for industrial development.

Law on private gold mining in Kazakhstan and Russia. With comments.

Some of them are simply unprofitable - their cost due to relief, geographical and economic conditions is higher than the cost of the production obtained. Large enterprises will not deal with gold in this case.

Gold mining in Russia by individuals in small shares is more relevant than large-scale mining. There are many deposits with a small concentration of precious metal; the state not only cannot control them, but sometimes it is not even able to register them.

At the beginning of the 21st century, small deposits of gold are being discovered even in regions that have never panned for gold.

Is gold mining allowed in Russia by private individuals?

Important: Every square kilometer is paid.

MET.
How gold is mined In addition to ore, there are several other methods of gold mining:

Placers.
Processing of secondary raw materials.
Handicraft methods.
Mining.

The most popular and effective last method. Gold occurs in quartz veins. In this case, it is mined along with him.

The second most popular method is artisanal. It requires expensive equipment. It includes a number of other methods, for example, washing, cyanidation and amalgamation.

Note! Big profits from gold mining can only be obtained with good investments. Private activity brings in little money, and the license is issued for 5 years.

Mining without it is criminally punishable.

Rules for obtaining a gold mining license

This Federal body has a representative office in each region, therefore, a trip to the capital to obtain a permit document does not seem advisable. In some cases (for example, when the right to develop a deposit of special status is issued), the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources is involved in the process.

This government agency conducts auctions and competitions. The largest gold deposit today is Sukhoi Log; the right to gold mining here will cost tens of billions of rubles.

To obtain a license, you should contact Rosnedr. Cases that do not require obtaining a license. Purchasing a license is not necessary if an entrepreneur acquires an enterprise with all permits. In a number of situations, it is not necessary to obtain a license and go through a lengthy procedure of competitions and auctions.
The procedure for handing over the mined precious metal will be determined after the legislative and regulatory act is approved federal level. Later, on the ground, government officials will be able to make the necessary changes to regional legislation.
In conclusion, with the adoption of the law, Russia can be ranked among the leading countries where not only the industrial production of precious metals is developed, but also gold mining (in Russia, i.e. on the territory) by individuals. The growth of gold mining is possible, but not only because of the large deposits of the precious metal, but also because fresh gold deposits are being steadily studied in Russia, the latest technologies are emerging, and the needs of individual entrepreneurs and small organizations are being taken into account.

Nuances of gold mining in Russia

The state included additional payments for gold miners and gave them the right to develop the richest gold mines. To intensify labor, housing, vouchers to sanatoriums, etc. were distributed. Before the Great Patriotic War Every resident of the country over 18 years of age who had not previously received criminal punishment had the right to work as a miner. The number of gold miners operating separately or in non-governmental organizations reached 120 thousand. The resulting gold was handed over to countless specialized points. Gold mining in Russia at mines by private individuals, their discovery has brought significant benefits. Then the deposits became state owned. The precious metal in Russia was mainly obtained in the east: in the Urals, in Siberia, where the Bolsheviks did not immediately find themselves after the revolution. Gold mining enterprises found themselves in the hands of one political force, then another.

The Ministry of Investment and Development told LS about the features of a new type of subsoil use for Kazakhstan - artisanal mining.

It will now be possible to obtain permission to independently mine gold by obtaining a prospecting license. They will be issued to plots located in specially designated territories, which will be determined by local executive bodies together with territorial divisions of the Committee of Geology and Subsoil Use.

Placer deposits should be located in these areas, since the prospecting license will allow the extraction of gold, as well as other precious metals and stones, only in placers.

“Licenses will be issued for three years on a first-come, first-served basis. This principle means that a license is issued to the applicant whose application is submitted first among the submitted applications for the same site or part of it, and this application meets all formal requirements,” the department added.

At the same time, an application for a license can be submitted only by citizens of Kazakhstan who are individual entrepreneurs. Moreover, the rights under the license will be non-transferable, and only one license can be issued to one person.

“There are no special qualification criteria or requirements, since gold mining is a very difficult task.

Is gold mining allowed in Russia by private individuals?

It will be necessary to fill out an application, attach documents confirming the applicant’s data, the availability of security for the fulfillment of the liquidation obligation (insurance, bank guarantee, funds on deposit), a list of one’s own machinery and equipment used in mining, a mining plan and the consent of the private landowner, if the territory of the proposed prospecting occurs on someone else’s land,” the department said.

However, there will reportedly be certain restrictions on miners that are necessary to “encourage miners to engage in legal and fair mining.”

“Restrictions relate to mechanization, the use of chemicals, explosives, the depth of work and the volume of gold recovered. In the draft code, the limit on the volume of extraction is set at 50 kg of gold per year (the cost of 1 gram of gold at the National Bank exchange rate as of October 10, 2017 is about 14.1 thousand tenge, therefore 50 kg costs 704.8 million tenge) “, - added to MIR RK.

As stated in the ministry, the general tax regime established for all individual entrepreneurs will be applied to miners.

In addition, the department explained that before obtaining a license, it is not expected to pay any payments to the state. However, after obtaining a license, it will be necessary to pay a special payment within the period established by tax legislation. The amount of such payment will depend on the area of the subsoil plot.

The draft Code “On Subsoil and Subsoil Use”, together with the accompanying bill, is currently under consideration in the Mazhilis of Parliament.

The current version of the draft code provides for its entry into force at the beginning of 2018, and its entry into force on July 1, 2018. A six-month period, according to representatives of the Ministry of Investment and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is necessary to create the appropriate infrastructure and reformat the work of responsible government bodies.

In our country there are a lot of small gold placers, the mining of which using existing industrial technologies is, in most cases, economically unprofitable. Large gold mining enterprises are practically not interested in placer deposits with reserves of less than 100 and even 200 kg, since they know well the cost of developing a new deposit. Mining small placers by small crews extracting tens of kilograms of gold per year is most often unprofitable. The salary in such artels is usually less than 10 thousand rubles. per month, no profit. Many artels cannot repay loans to banks; they have nothing to pay taxes from. Naturally, they do not carry out reclamation of disturbed lands and leave behind joyless pits and dumps. As a result, small deposits currently generate almost no income for the state and do not provide decent wages to workers.
Meanwhile, even the smallest placers with reserves of less than 50 kg and even no reserves at all can bring high profits, provide employment to the population and provide a noticeable replenishment of regional budgets. Profitable technology for developing small deposits has been well developed abroad. They effectively use placers that have incomparably worse characteristics than our Russian ones.

We have collected materials on foreign experience, and we are confident that it can be useful in our country. With us, it is also possible to receive high profits from small deposits rather than losses.

The economic essence of foreign experience is to increase the value of gold by attracting tourists to mine gold. The owner of the deposit charges a fee for work on his site and provides tourists with a variety of paid services. The benefit of this is the following. Each tourist brings with him several thousand dollars, which settle in the area, and takes with him an average of 1 g of gold. Thus, every gram of gold brings more than $1,000 to the area. At the same time, the smallest deposit turns out to be profitable, can be mined for decades, provides income to the owner and stable revenues to the budget.

In America, Australia, Switzerland, Italy, and many other countries, tourism with gold mining provides employment to the local population in the service sector, good trade turnover, and contributes to the construction of hotels, roads, and landscaping. In addition, enterprises are developing that produce equipment for tourist gold mining (mini-drags, mini-devices, metal detectors, etc.), which provide additional jobs and taxes.

For example, in little Switzerland there is native and placer gold. Let us go there, we would have dug up all the gold in a year. The Swiss do not want to spoil their nature with industrial mining and protect their gold. It is mined only by amateurs and tourists. All conditions have been created for them: pay money and mine gold for your pleasure, you can take part in the competition and receive a “gold digger certificate”. By the way, their gold is small and most tourists only manage to “get” a few tokens. Sometimes, however, there are wonderful finds that serve as excellent advertising to attract tourists.

Tourist gold mining is organized in different ways. For example, in Australia they invite wealthy tourists from the USA and Japan to play gold miners. They are provided with metal detectors and other equipment, and are given a rental car. To mine gold you need to buy a license, which can be lifetime for $50. Mined gold and its export are not subject to taxes and duties. French journalist V. Crespin, who visited Australia, writes: “When we first visited one of these fields, we were left with a painful impression. Thousands of people scurried about on miserable patches of land in a real desert..... The heat was unbearable. The soil became hot and burned my feet even through my shoes; I could hardly stand it. And yet the time of “hunting” for gold flies by. Only by chance, taking my eyes off the ground, I saw the already setting sun.”

In Australia, you can also search for gold in rivers by buying a map or hiring a guide.

Elsewhere, a more organized form of tourism is offered. The Gold Mining Club (USA) reports:
“We have over 2,000 acres of land on tributaries of the Pera River. We also have 400 acres on the Quartz Plateau in Arizona. Membership in our club allows you, your spouse and children to enjoy our open spaces. We provide free parking on our lands for up to 30 days. Club members have the right to mine gold on all lands. We found a nugget weighing 210 g. We allow you to work with mini-dredges, coastal mini-instruments, sluices, and chutes. We conduct training programs for beginners. The total cost of membership is $800, the price for a group of ten or more people at one time is $700, reconnaissance training is $50 (for a club member - $45), minidrag training is $50, etc.” Here is the money! We have already said how much gold a tourist will extract.

Tourism abroad brings life to areas where industrial gold mining has already ceased. In Alaska, known to us from the stories of Jack London, the “golden chronicle” of the legendary region continues to this day. Tourism ranks first in Dawson's economy. It was in this city that the main events developed at the beginning of the last century. In 1966, the last major gold mining company left Dawson. However, several dozen small gold mining companies, including family-owned ones, continue to operate here. One of the hereditary gold miners owns three small gold mines and several hundred acres of land on the banks of streams flowing into the Klondike. He leases these areas to gold miners of the 21st century. There are still many who want to test Fate and themselves.
As can be seen from the examples given, tourist development of deposits is very profitable and allows not only to generate income, but in some cases to solve social problems in areas with a depleted raw material base.

In Russia, gold mining tourism is not yet developed at all, although here it could provide jobs and profits in many regions. Our country is rich in gold. Its industrial production is carried out in 30 constituent entities of the federation, and non-industrial facilities are located almost everywhere, even near Moscow. Many deposits are located in beautiful places and contain easily extracted alluvial gold that is attractive to tourists. In Altai, Buryatia, Magadan Region, Primorye, Khabarovsk Territory, Kamchatka - everywhere it is possible to allocate territories for tourism with gold mining. In addition, we have many areas where industrial gold mining has ceased, and the population is left without work and, in fact, begging. Gold tourism could be a source of income for areas like Dawson.

You especially need to pay attention to the Bama zone. Since the 80s, there have been many half-empty villages here, where the population does not know what to do with themselves. The areas are predominantly subsidized and have no prospects for development. The waste dumps and small non-industrial placers along the Bama highway could become truly golden if they are used to attract foreign tourists. Our dumps are incomparably richer than in other countries. In 2001, we assessed several properties in the Taximo area. At the same time, with the help of amateur instruments, several dozen nuggets were found within a week, and on one of the waste streams, gold pieces were collected without instruments, by hand.

Today tourists go for gold to Alaska, Australia, Switzerland and leave their money there. The Bama zone can also become an excellent tourist area due to the remains of alluvial deposits.

If we compare the income from tourism and industrial mining of small placers, the difference is huge.

Obtaining a mining license

With industrial mining, a small placer with 20 kg reserves can yield an income of $240 thousand (based on $12 per gram). Mining the same placer by tourists will generate an income of $20 million (based on $1000 per gram). Of course, not all $20 million will be received by the owner of the field; the money will be distributed among everyone who will serve tourists, but by and large this does not matter. The money will remain in the country and regions, and our people will get jobs and salaries.

The development of gold mining tourism today is hampered by Russian legislation that prohibits gold mining for private individuals. Because of this, instead of profitable tourism, we have developed illegal mining. Using the most primitive equipment, our people earn their living by selling gold to buyers for $3-4 per gram or exchanging it for vodka. Illegal gold miners are called “predators”, although in fact they are hard workers who make money with their own hands, not through fraud or bribes. They don't pay taxes, but what has the government done to enable them to pay them?

The main opponents of free gold mining are representatives of mining cooperatives, who believe that this will lead to the theft of gold from them. However, the problem can be easily solved by allocating territories for tourist mining where industrial gold mining is not carried out. You can also become more familiar with the experience of Australia, where industrial enterprises happily cooperate with tourists, allowing them to rummage through dumps.

The technology of developing small deposits with the attraction of tourists is completely new for us. However, foreign experience testifies to its high efficiency and comparative simplicity. There are more facilities for tourist gold mining in our country than anywhere else in the world. It's up to our legislation.

B.K. Kavchik, Ph.D., expert of the Russian Federation - JSC "Irgiredmet", May 2004.

Video film about gold mining on your own, by free miners

This film is about gold and artisanal gold mining. How free miners mine gold. Where is gold mined, and what equipment is used to mine and search for gold. The gold washing technology is shown. Film 5th in the series - for gold, technologies and equipment for private gold mining. The author of the film is Rudolf Kavchik, Ust-Kamenogorsk, 2010.

Gold mining license

Gold mining license in Russia it is issued only to legal entities. Individuals are prohibited from extracting metal from the subsoil. This is stated in Article 191 of the country’s Criminal Code.

Assembling a team to mine gold

Before receiving the document, you need to register an LLC or OJSC.

This is how articles devoted to gold mining in the country began until 2016. Now, individual entrepreneurs can also extract metal from the subsoil. Changes were made to the subsoil legislation at the initiative of Dmitry Medvedev.

The impetus for the amendments was the plight of the residents of Chukotka. The fishery that fed many people turned out to be inaccessible. There are only a few large organizations, and ordinary citizens of the region, that is, the majority, need to survive. The ban has been lifted. All that remains is to figure out who to contact in order to obtain licenses for gold mining.

Who issues a license for gold mining

The subsoil from which metal is extracted by organizations, private companies, or state-owned companies. Therefore, the issuance of licenses for land use is entrusted to the federal body - Rosnedra.

It has regional offices and authorized assistants, for example, Tsentrsibnedra. This geology and licensing department deals with the documentation of Buryatzoloto.

Sometimes the country's Ministry of Nature gets involved. It is responsible for auctions for the right to develop particularly important deposits. So, in 2016, the Ministry of Natural Resources will decide the fate of Sukhoi Log. The largest gold deposits in Russia were discovered in the Bodaibinsky district of the Irkutsk region.

The corporations Druza, Rostec, and Vysochaishy volunteered to participate in the auction. Foreign companies (even partially) were denied access to trading by the Ministry of Nature. Their starting amount is 5 billion rubles.

The standard fee for a license obtained from Rosnedra is significantly less. But more on this in the chapter on prices. In the meantime, let’s find out how to get around getting permission from the party.

Don't think about obtaining a gold mining license You can buy a company that already has all the necessary paperwork. For example, an enterprise for the extraction of precious metals and sands is for sale.

The enrichment plant, where valuable material is selected and primary processing is carried out, has already been built.

The license was issued to the organization until 2020. All that remains is to take over the business. Renewing a permit is usually easier than getting one for the first time. One of the snags is that geological information about the subsoil site must undergo state verification. Experts will evaluate the reserves. The papers will not be issued until their verdict.

Some businessmen do not buy existing enterprises, but start by concluding agreements with their owners. The papers allow the development of part or the entire territory of the deposit. At the same time, the license to conduct gold mining remains with the owner of the mine.

Concluding agreements with other legal entities and transferring to them powers to develop subsoil resources are not prohibited by law. The relationship is official and, most importantly, low-budget.

Two parties find each other, as a rule, through advertisements like: “I’ll rent a plot at gold mining" and "Gold mining business for rent."

For how long is a gold mining license issued?

Where to get a gold mining license, found out. Now let’s figure out how long it’s worth asking for paper. If the plans are only for production, the permit cannot be valid for more than 20 years.

If the extraction of metal from the subsoil is combined with their geological study, a license is issued for a maximum of 25 years. Accordingly, the papers are valid for 5 years only for geological exploration activities.

This is a rule for legal entities. License for private gold mining issued for a period of up to 5 years. Imposed on individuals

restrictions on site selection. You cannot enter territories with reserves suitable for industrial development.

Licenses are given only for searching in the dumps of former industries, or for developing unpromising areas. Another snag is the ban on the use of heavy equipment, such as bulldozers.

License for gold mining for a private person is given on the terms of his use of hand tools. You won’t be able to extract much valuable metal from technogenic placers like this.

Gold mining license price

Cost of a gold mining license depends on how you get it. There are a number of law firms that undertake to draw up papers for an amount from 100,000 to 200,000 thousand rubles.

Ads " I will buy a license for gold mining" - Not unusual. Investments in industrial developments, on average, amount to 10-100,000,000 rubles. This is in the case of placers.

If mining is carried out from ore, 15-20,000,000 will be required, and not just rudders, but dollars. Compared to these amounts, 100-200,000 does not seem like a lot of money. At the same time, businessmen save themselves from the hassle of paperwork.

Another question, how much does a gold mining license cost? in case of its independent registration. The state duty is only 7,500 rubles. For re-issuance of paperwork they will charge 10 times less.

They ask for the same amount for a duplicate confirming the presence of a state permit to use subsoil. A license renewal also costs 750 rubles. The information is posted on the website of the Department of Subsoil Use of the Central Federal District.

How to get a gold mining license everyone decides for themselves. Minimum costs, as a rule, accompany organizations that received papers on a competitive basis. A competition is an alternative to the same auction. At the latter, the stakes are raised.

The competitors fight not so much for money, but for their readiness to fulfill the conditions of the customer, that is, the state. As a rule, it offers a limited list of deposits.

Most of them require additional geological exploration. The investor is obligated to carry it out, setting a tight deadline. If possible, you can save a lot on obtaining a license.

Despite the different ways to obtain a license, experts talk about 15-20 tons of illegal gold mining annually. Small miners, as a rule, bypass the law.

Previously, they were prohibited from working in principle. Now, they have allowed to use the subsoil, but under conditions that do not suit the majority of private owners. The legislation is imperfect, but gold reserves in Russia can be called such.

Herodotus also wrote about the abundance of precious metal in the country. 15 centuries have passed since the 5th century, hundreds of new deposits have been discovered. They cannot help but attract treasure hunters. As a result, the volume of illegally mined gold accounts for more than 10% of total production.

The ban on private gold prospecting in Russia lasted for almost a century. During the Soviet era, they decided to trust the subsoil only to large organizations. After the collapse of the union, they started talking about lifting restrictions only in the 2000s.

The practice of interaction between the state and private miners outside the framework of the Criminal Code has been lost. It is necessary not only to issue licenses, but also to restore ties and trust between the federal apparatus and mere mortals.

Peter the Great once trusted them and was right. Most of the large deposits of Tsarist Russia were discovered by those who today are commonly called individuals.

Category: Finance

Rules for the development of mines

Upon completion of the draft act, legal entities and individual entrepreneurs who have received, in accordance with the procedure established by law, a license to use natural resources in Kolyma, within the territory of the Magadan Region, will be able to mine gold. As for the specific places in which private gold mining will become available, the list will be prepared and posted on the official website by the Magadan Department of the State Subsoil Fund.

By law, artisanal gold mining was prohibited, and according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, independent activity is punishable. However new project on free labor will allow people to engage in mining for the subsequent delivery of precious minerals to the state. Citizens of the Russian Federation will be allowed to mine up to 10 kg of gold in one mine. To do this, the individual entrepreneur will need to apply for a specific placer deposit and use only it. The area of the land plot provided for rent will be no more than 0.15 km2.

Precious metal can be mined exclusively in the following ways:

only by superficial method;
using trays and other hand tools, without the use of special equipment - industrial tractors, bulldozers, etc.;
personally, without involving third parties under a contract;
without the use of explosives in the process;
without quarry development and maintenance;
using a layer of earth up to 5 m deep.

To perform the work, it is not necessary to develop and approve technical designs and other project documentation.

The procedure for the delivery of precious metals for gold miners will be determined after the approval of a regulatory act at the federal level. Then government representatives will make adjustments to regional legislation.

Obtaining a license for entrepreneurs

The subsoil used for the extraction of minerals by organizations and private owners is state owned. Accordingly, the use of natural resources requires obtaining official permission. The Federal Agency for Subsoil Use (Rosnedra) is responsible for issuing it.

Registration of the right to develop subsoil is not necessary only when an entrepreneur purchases an enterprise that has all the necessary documents or when a gold miner enters into an agreement with an organization. In the second case, work is carried out on the territory of a deposit or mine on the basis of a license from an operating company.

To obtain the right to use a land plot, an individual will need to do the following.

Register as an individual entrepreneur.
Submit an application to the management body of the state subsoil fund.
Wait for the results of consideration of the application by a specially appointed commission, which, based on the results of its study, will make a decision within 30 days from the date of application to issue a permit or to refuse to grant the right to use subsoil.
If the response to the application is positive, obtain a license.

Unlike organizations, individual entrepreneurs do not participate in auctions and competitions in which the winner becomes the owner of the right to gold mining. But at the same time, individuals are limited in the choice of gold-bearing areas and the use of heavy equipment.

If companies are issued a gold mining license for a period of 20–25 years, then for private owners - only for 5 years. The total costs of its registration consist of state duty and payment for the use of natural resources. Current information on the amount of state duty is available on the website of the Department of Subsoil Use of the Central Federal District.

The state duty is quite democratic

The total cost of obtaining a license depends on whether the papers are drawn up independently or through a law firm. By independently obtaining a permit, the gold miner significantly reduces costs.

In fact, they give any Russian citizen the opportunity to become a miner and buy and sell gold absolutely legally and profitably.

The tone was set by Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev, who proposed lifting restrictions on gold mining for individuals. Today, only legal entities have the right to mine the despised metal, which is stipulated in the Law “On Precious Metals and Precious Stones.” It is clear that serious reserves of indigenous gold are beyond the reach of lone miners. But they will not lay claim to Sukhoi Log. According to Yuri Trutnev, “the sphere of activity of individuals in gold mining can include mountain dumps, industrial waste and other types of non-industrial mining.”

It is clear that they will not make a difference in the volume of gold production. However, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources, this will help solve another important problem - the problem of employment of residents of remote regions of the Far East and Siberia.

However, we note that two thirds of the 600 gold mining organizations are small companies and cooperatives that produce no more than one hundred kilograms per year. So, if the people work hard, they may well make a worthy contribution to the country’s gold and foreign exchange reserves.

The proposal of the Minister of Natural Resources was actively supported by the Minister of Finance. At the same time, Alexey Kudrin drew attention to the problem of illicit trafficking in precious metals. There is an opinion that allowing individuals to mine gold entails a high risk of gold theft. Most of all, representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB insist on this. According to the Minister of Finance, the owners, on the contrary, will strive to strengthen control over the deposits. True, in order to allow citizens to engage in mining, it is not enough to amend the law on precious metals. A number of organizational issues remain to be resolved. For example, open collection points for gold mined by individuals. And also decide whether to maintain a system for registering each transaction or not.

Alexey Kudrin also spoke in favor of the privatization of gold processing (refining) enterprises. In his opinion, these enterprises today no longer need the care of the state. They work normally and are controlled, there are no violations on their part. Apparently, these enterprises will begin to be put up for auction in the near future.

It seems that the question of where to store money, other than bank deposits, will soon be resolved. The President believes that it is necessary to reduce the VAT rate on the purchase and sale of gold by individuals. So, it is assumed that the population should have an alternative to the dollar and euro by purchasing so-called gold bullion bars from authorized banks. In principle, citizens still have such an opportunity today. But, as they say, buying gold is not a problem, the problem begins later when the need arises to sell it and get money. So, with this operation, citizens are forced to pay an 18 percent tax. We are talking about value added tax.

It is clear that in this situation, gold bars were not particularly popular among Russians who wanted not only to save their hard-earned money, but also to make some profit from it. A reduction, or better yet a complete abolition of VAT for such transactions, could spur citizens’ interest in gold, which is sold both in bars and in coins of the Bank of Russia.

As for reducing the VAT rate for citizens when purchasing gold, there are no objections here, according to an informed official from the Ministry of Finance. Moreover, today the issue of reducing the VAT rate throughout the country is being considered. The proposal to simplify the tax regime for small enterprises in the gold mining industry can be considered controversial. Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin believes that all enterprises should have an equal taxation regime for profits. True, it is possible to introduce tax breaks, the Minister of Finance added. However, the decision to expand the number of preferential regimes is not such a simple task. As the Ministry of Finance explained to the RG correspondent, when providing similar concessions in other industries, they were faced with the fact that large enterprises immediately acquired a bunch of small ones in order to get into the small business column and thus receive preferential tax treatment.

Opinion

Sergey Pravykh, director of a private jewelry factory:

I'm glad that the authorities have finally made up their minds. After all, I have been hearing talk about liberalizing the gold mining market for several years now. Today, some guy in Magadan with a “black cash” can directly buy gold from miners. And there are thousands of them around the country. Everyone mines several tens of grams of gold per day in the old-fashioned way. If you consider that a gram costs $15 on the London Stock Exchange, you can imagine what “gold and foreign exchange reserves” are in circulation on the “black market”. Of the 140 tons of gold that are mined annually, almost a third is stolen from the mines and sold to the same “black” buyers. The stolen metal is sent through illegal channels, including to Turkey and China for processing, in order to return back to Russia in the form of jewelry.

I think the situation will change now. The main thing is that the state clearly defines the procedure for licensing the extraction of gold by citizens, the possibility of selling gold sand either directly to factories, for processing, or to banks, or to jewelers. At the same time, obtaining licenses for gold mining should not be of a permissive nature, but of an application nature. And licenses should cost a penny, so that everyone who wants to can try their luck. This artisanal work is especially relevant today for residents of the Far East, the Urals, Magadan, and Yakutia - some will be able to earn their daily bread, and others will become fantastically rich. The most important thing is that the state will try to partially solve the problem of employment in remote regions.

Today in the country there are thousands of abandoned, but rich in gold, dumps, unprofitable deposits, where it is unprofitable to work in an industrial way, but for private owners - just right. There is no risk of a “gold rush” for Russians, but the main thing is that foreigners are not included in the distribution of licenses. But there is such a danger. As soon as Russia allows individuals to mine gold, rest assured that Chinese, Mongolian, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz citizens will be the first to run to queue up for Russian mines and find ways to develop them.

Precious metal went ahead

By the end of the year, gold should rise to $500 per ounce (31.1 grams). The last time such a price was recorded was in 1987. According to the forecasts of experts who took part in a Bloomberg survey, the main reason for its rise in price will be an increase in demand for the precious metal against the backdrop of a fall in major currencies.

16 out of 28 economists surveyed strongly recommended buying gold. Just last week it rose in price by $16.8 and reached $486.2 per ounce. Since the beginning of the year, its value has increased by 11 percent. Until this point, the main reason for price hikes was said to be a reduction in production volumes, as well as an increase in demand for Jewelry and increased concerns about a possible acceleration in inflation.

Many Russian residents with an adventurous nature, having watched enough on TV of prospectors searching for gold in the USA and Australia, are inspired by the idea of becoming prospectors. It is doable, although difficult.

If previously in Russia there was a ban on gold mining by private individuals, then starting in 2017 it was lifted, and private owners were again allowed to search for the precious metal. This was done to support small businesses in remote areas - primarily in Chukotka, Yakutia, the Far East, the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Altai Republic. The government expects that private traders will be able to additionally replenish the Russian treasury by 300 kilograms of gold per year.

Law is law

The extraction of precious metals in Russia is regulated by Law No. 2395-1 “On Subsoil” and Law No. 41-FZ “On Precious Metals and Precious Stones” of 1998.

According to the amendments to the law, individuals must be registered as individual entrepreneurs. They are eligible for a license to develop small vacant plots of up to 150,000 square meters for a period of five years. There are a number of restrictions: they do not have the right to hire other people, they do not have the right to use heavy equipment on the site, gold mining must be carried out manually - with metal detectors, hand dredges, and washing trays. The use of heavy equipment - bulldozers, drilling machines is not allowed.

Private owners are allowed to mine gold only in areas where there is no industrial gold mining, and the amount of precious metal mined on the site should not exceed ten kilograms.

Miners do not have the right to go deeper into the ground than five meters. Thus, ore gold remains almost completely out of sight of private owners - they can only mine native gold or extract gold sand by panning.

Illegal gold mining

Until now, almost 10% of gold production in Russia comes from the “black” sector, and there is a risk of meeting “black” miners in the taiga. This type of activity is prohibited, but in remote parts of the country it may be overlooked, and this should be remembered. In some places, there are entire illegal settlements of “black” gold miners.

Their actions fall under Article No. 191 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, according to which illegal traffic precious metals, their transportation, purchase or sale in large quantities is punishable by forced labor or imprisonment for up to five years with a fine of up to 500,000 rubles or withholding of wages for three years. If the crime is committed by a group of persons, then the term increases to seven years, and the fine - up to 1,000,000 rubles. A particularly large size of gold mining is mining from 1,500,000 rubles. In other cases, you can get off with a fine or probation.

Criminal liability will also arise if a miner inadvertently or deliberately invades someone else’s land, that is, encroaches on the property of another miner or company.

Goes the official route

Information about vacant plots can be found in the branches of the Rosnedra agency - this is a federal agency that maintains cadastral records and issues licenses for the extraction of minerals, including precious stones and gold. The agency's branches are located in almost all regional centers of Russia. After reviewing the proposed sites, you need to choose the one that seems most promising to you, pay a state fee of 7,500 rubles and submit an application. There are no auctions or competitions for private owners. The answer, in theory, should come within 30 days.

Of course, there may be pitfalls here. Newcomers are unlikely to be allowed to work in good areas. There are companies that provide services for obtaining a license, their services are valued at 100,000–200,000 rubles, which indicates that their services are used, otherwise such companies simply would not exist.

However, there is a way to become a miner without obtaining a license: to do this you need to enter into an agreement with a gold mining company and, for example, get from them for a certain percentage the opportunity to work on the dumps of an enterprise or where there is not enough gold for the industrial mining method, but there is still a lot for private owner

As far as one can judge from the remarks of the miners themselves on the Internet, the majority of private traders are dissatisfied with the new law - many hoped that the “free supply” of gold by miners to state buyers would be allowed, that is, the method by which gold miners pay taxes upon the fact of extracting the precious metal.

If you managed to get a license, it’s too early to rejoice - firstly, most of the sites are really in remote places, where “half a heifer and a ruble are transported.” Secondly, in addition to income tax, you will have to pay mineral extraction tax. Thirdly, you will have to worry about prospecting for gold in your chosen area - it may not be there, and you will be burned out.

Well, then you should remember that you yourself will have to worry about your own safety, protect yourself from bears, and the mined gold from people. You will find mosquitoes, midges, ticks, animals, cold nights, spending the night in a scarf, meetings with unpleasant people, disagreements with locals, possibly snowfalls and a very short season, because in the north summer lasts only three months: it begins in June and ends In the end of August.

But if difficulties only fuel the desire to get rich, and you are healthy, full of enthusiasm and, most importantly, know geology well, you can try.

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