The State Duma adopted in the third reading a law that significantly expands the list of activities of strategic importance for defense and security. Now the deposits of the whole fall under special control a number of minerals, including gold, copper, oil and gas, even if they are not federal. The document introduces clear quantitative criteria and closes loopholes for splitting assets.
The updated list includes subsoil areas with certain reserves. For gold, the threshold is set in the range from 30 to 50 tons. For oil – from 50 to 70 million tons. Gas fields are considered strategic with reserves ranging from 30 to 50 billion cubic meters. For copper, the criterion is from 300 to 500 thousand tons. If reserves fall within these intervals, development automatically becomes the object of increased government attention.
A separate and strict standard applies to rare earth metals of the yttrium group, uranium, nickel, cobalt, tantalum, niobium, beryllium, lithium, diamonds (excluding alluvial ones) and platinum. Any use of areas where manifestations of these metals are found is now considered strategic, regardless of the volume of reserves. Formally, this means that even small finds are subject to regulation.
An important innovation is taking into account total control. If one person owns several non-federal areas and the total reserves exceed established thresholds (for example, the total reserve of gold exceeds 50 tons), such activity is also recognized as strategic. This was done specifically to prevent unscrupulous players from splitting deposits into small pieces and evading regulation.
The list of strategic activities unexpectedly included industries that seemed far from the subsoil – the cultivation of Pacific salmon and the production of fish products. This speaks to the state’s comprehensive approach to identifying critical sectors.
The law will come into force 90 days after official publication. Market participants are already assessing the consequences. On the one hand, companies working with rare earth metals and non-ferrous ores will receive additional protection from hostile takeovers and foreign interference. On the other hand, administrative barriers will increase, and entry into the industry will become more difficult for new players.
Thus, the state has clearly indicated what resources does it consider critical? for national security. The extraction of gold, copper, oil and gas in medium-sized areas will now be regulated as tightly as the development of giant federal deposits. The market is entering a new era of control and transparency.
Source: @gorprom
Image: Gold and Technology
