Gold is a precious metal, the foundation of the financial system of all mankind and any individual country at almost all times. That is why gold mining is the most important occupation from ancient times to our time.
Today, gold is being mined in Russia by individuals, a license for this type of activity is required. However, this area has undergone many changes.
Gold mining in Russia today and in the past
In our country, it is officially believed that gold mining in Russia by private individuals, finding mines, the activity of entire corporations has been conducted on an industrial scale since the 18th century. Obviously, in small sizes gold was mined in previous centuries. And this is no coincidence. The nature of Russia has provided many rich loose deposits available for development in almost all parts of the country.
Modern Russia is one of the leaders in gold mining. Gold is found in all parts of the country. Ever since the Middle Ages, the Urals, Siberia, the Far East, etc. are famous. There is gold in the closer regions, albeit to a lesser extent - in the Moscow Region, Leningrad Region. Gold mining in Russia at the present stage is more than 250 tons per year. According to the results of last year, our country has established itself in one of the leading places in the overall production of precious metals.
Forms of gold miners
The field of activity of active and energetic people has always been vast and diverse. Gold mining, although sometimes dangerous, does not necessarily require a high-tech base and large financial resources. Gold mining can be done by individuals, large companies, and government agencies. At the same time, the Russian state either took an active role in gold mining, or gave gold mining in Russia to individuals. At the present stage, corporations such as Kinross Gold, OJSC Yuzhuralzoloto, OJSC Severstal, etc. are mainly engaged in gold. Until recently, gold mining in Russia by individuals has been practiced in much smaller volumes.
Private Gold Mining Passivity
Reasons for the passivity of free miners:
- Technical In the modern technological world, gold is mined, first of all, during the daily activities of mining and processing plants and individual special machines - dredges. Gold mining is much more efficient; manual labor cannot be compared to machine labor.
- Legal. The state and in the newest period for a long time limited the activities of non-governmental small organizations and individuals. Until recent years, the law openly sided with large companies.
Reasons for 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. Some of them are elementarily unprofitable - their cost due to relief, geographic and economic conditions is higher than the cost of production. In this case, large enterprises will not engage in gold. Gold mining in Russia by individuals in small shares is more relevant than large-scale. 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 found even in regions in which gold has never been washed.
Secondly, the washing of gold by unorganized prospectors in abandoned deposits, undoubtedly, highlights the positive aspects: the “web” of automobile roads to development sites, low demands on the professional level of workers, and the potential for using a more primitive, inexpensive tool. In the Amur Territory there is an officially non-working field. The search for gold has been going on for more than a hundred years. However, a large amount of precious metal has been lifted from the ground, so that free prospectors will find something to look for. Gold mining in Russia by individuals in abandoned mines is currently increasing.
The history of private gold mining during the USSR
A definite problem is the lack of significant experience in private gold mining. Gold mining in Russia by individuals has not been permitted since 1954. The Stalin era was more free. The state included additional payments for gold prospectors, gave the right to develop the richest gold mines. To intensify labor, they distributed housing, vouchers to sanatoriums, etc. Prior to World War II, every citizen of the country over 18 who had not received criminal punishment had the right to work as a prospector. The number of gold prospectors operating separately or in non-governmental organizations reached 120 thousand.
The resulting gold was handed over to countless specialized points. The extraction of gold in mines in Russia by private individuals, their presence has brought significant benefits. Then the deposits became state-owned. Mostly precious metal in Russia was obtained in the east: in the Urals, in Siberia, where after the revolution the Bolsheviks did not immediately find themselves. Gold mining enterprises were now in the hands of one political force, then another. The losers, leaving, destroyed the equipment, disabled the mines, and prevented the workers from functioning.
The decline of private gold mining in the Civil War
In the era of the Civil War, gold mining was almost completely disabled. If gold mining in the country decreased on the eve of the revolution, then with the outbreak of civil strife, it still fell. In 1918, a total of 30 tons of gold was mined, and on the eve of the war, the total mass was 64 tons per year. There was no law on gold mining by individuals (or any other gold mining law).
In subsequent years, gold received less and less. 2.8 tons were mined in 1920, and only 2.5 tons in 1921. However, during the years of existence of free miners (1932-1941), the volume of the precious metal obtained increased several times.
As already noted, in 1954, by the decision of the Soviet state, the work of free miners to extract precious metal was prohibited. After the collapse of the USSR, the illegal production of precious metals annually amounted to about 15-20 tons - 10% of the legal volume.
Latest time
In recent decades, individual changes in the sphere of gold mining have nevertheless occurred. Against the background of the changes that are taking place at the present stage, it does not look quite logical and understandably strict restrictions in gold mining. Gold mining in Russia by individuals required a license. Gold mining and its licensing are limited by the Federal Law "On Subsoil" No. 2395-1, which became part of the Russian State in force in the first year of its existence, and the Federal Law "On Precious Metals and Precious Stones" No. 41-FZ, which was enforced in 1998 .
The law on gold mining in Russia by individuals provides that the receipt of gold is realized only by legal entities that have taken permission (license). The state structure distributing licenses is the Federal Agency for Subsoil Use - Rosnedra and its organizations in the province. Permission is required for gold mining in Russia by individuals.
Obtaining a license for gold mining
The instruction for obtaining an authorization document consists of the following mandatory steps:
- Reconnaissancethe bowels of which are recommended by the state for sale at auction or competition (such information is available on the Internet on government websites, all messages are publicly available on the Rosnedr website and regional offices).
- Submission of requirements for participation in public tenders or competitions, obtaining a number of official documents determined by the competitive (auction) conditions.
- The participant who won first place in the auction (auction), and will win a gold mining license.
As a rule, gold mining in Russia by individuals (need a license) is allowed for 20-25 years or for the period of completed gold mining at the mine. The document can be officially recognized from the moment of state registration.
In our country from 1992 to 1998. any precious Russian citizen received permission to explore this precious metal even without the proper official document of a state structure. Since 1998, free prospectors have lost many rights: they could only work in organizations that took gold mining licenses. In particular, gold is now being mined in Russia by individuals with a license.
Legislative changes
Only in 2016, Dmitry Medvedev, outlining the next stage of liberalization in the field of gold mining, approved amendments to the law "On Subsoil". They concerned the extraction of gold in Russia by individuals (2016 - new edition).
According to this legislative document, from the beginning of 2017, private gold mining in Russia was once again allowed. The law provided for the possibility of renting for a certain time a land area of 0.15 square meters. m, on which, according to professionals, you can get up to ten kilograms of gold. However, when mining gold, it must be borne in mind that there are several requirements:
- metal should be obtained only by the surface method;
- it is forbidden to use explosives in work;
- You can use a layer of land up to five meters deep.
Today, gold mining in Russia by private individuals (a license will avoid problems with the law) may result in a fine of several thousand rubles. At the same time, the prospector will also be left without a tool purchased specifically for the precious metal. And if it turns out that the suspect has gold worth more than one million rubles, there is also criminal liability. A similar case applies to the development of the mine, which is the property of the company, which is engaged in gold mining.
Positive aspects of amendments to the Law "On Subsoil"
Even with all these facts taken into account, many believe that the adopted law has a lot of positive consequences:
- additional budget revenues - it is estimated that the government will earn about 300 kg of gold annually;
- good support to strengthen small and medium enterprises in provincial areas;
- the creation of additional jobs and the growth of self-employment of the population;
- population growth in populated areas of less populated regions.
However, an increase in the number of private miners leads to the danger of increased corruption and banditry, since it is a very convenient environment for committing crimes. Strict state control and a clear legal framework will be able to stop such a process.
The procedure for handing over the mined precious metal will be determined after the legislative and regulatory act is approved at the federal level. Later, on the ground, government officials will be able to make the necessary changes to regional legislation.
Finally
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 gold is also being mined (in Russia, i.e. on the territory) by individuals. Gold mining is possible, but not only because of large deposits of precious metal, but also because fresh gold deposits are steadily explored in Russia, the latest technologies appear, and the needs of individual entrepreneurs and small organizations are taken into account.
Go to Rosnedra, pay a state fee of 7500 rubles. and all? Or should I still find the owner of this site and conclude a contract (and if the site is already more than 50-100 years old?). Thank!