At the MINEX Far East forum in Magadan, the chairman of the Union of Prospectors of Russia, Viktor Tarakanovsky, made a sharp statement: placer gold mining industry may disappear completely. The reason is not a lack of metal, but excessive bureaucratic barriers, fines and unbearable financial requirements.
Tarakanovsky cited data: of the 25 billion rubles that the state received from auctions for all types of minerals, 9 billion came from alluvial gold. This is twice as much as the budget earned from hydrocarbons. However, instead of support, miners face systemic obstacles.
One of the key problems is the imperfect methodology for calculating reserves. Geological information is probabilistic in nature, and the actual amount of gold in development often does not correspond to initial estimates. Tarakanovsky referred to a letter from the deputy head of Rosnedra Orest Kasparov, according to which, due to the nature of the deposits, up to 43% of gold may not be included in official reserves.
As an example of the absurdity of the current rules, the head of the Union of Prospectors cited the Vostok artel in the Khabarovsk Territory. According to the project, there were 28 kilograms of gold on the site. The enterprise worked and produced 42 kilograms – it exceeded the plan. Instead of reward, the artel was fined 300 thousand rubles, and its chairman – another 40 thousand. “In what kind of madhouse is it necessary to impose a fine while carrying out the plan?” – Tarakanovsky was indignant.
Another blow to the industry is the new requirements for reclamation funds. Companies are required to reserve hundreds of millions of rubles in advance for future land restoration. At the same time, bank rates on such reserves reach 30–40% per annum, which makes servicing them almost impossible for most mining cooperatives.
Tarakanovsky emphasized that the current policy creates more obstacles than incentives. Fines for exceeding production, strict licensing conditions, unrealistic requirements for reclamation, combined with the lack of a real fight against gold theft, are putting the industry on the brink of survival. No system changes placer gold mining risks losing personnel and production volumes, and the state risks losing significant tax revenues.
Source: @nedradvnews
Image: zolteh.ru
