Gold mining in Russia by individuals, license

Gold is rightfully considered the king among all metals. Its relative rarity, softness of forging, resistance to corrosion and the effects of large amounts of alkalis and acids place it an order of magnitude higher than other metals of the periodic table. Add to this the bright, warm, alluring sunny color that gold has in its pure form - and it immediately becomes clear who is truly worthy of “taking the metal throne.”

Unfortunately, for a long time in Russia, the extraction of this noble metal was the lot of large corporations, firms with large capacities, having all the equipment necessary for this, and also occupying vast territories for mining. However, in 2021, everything changed - an amendment appeared in the legislation allowing gold mining in Russia by individuals. Let's take a look at what exactly this is all about and whether there are any pitfalls.

On the eve of the gold rush

As already mentioned, a number of additions were made to the Russian “Law on Subsoil”, as a result of which ordinary citizens of the Russian Federation can obtain a license for gold mining. Why was this done? First of all, as official sources say, in fulfillment of the Constitution of the state, which clearly states that the wealth of the country belongs to its people. A certain social factor also played a role, namely, the standard of living of the country’s citizens in some of its regions. In particular – Chukotka.

Cut off from the ability to mine gold on their own, and in the absence of a sufficient number of jobs in the area, local residents clearly experienced financial difficulties. The new amendment will allow any local to start their own micro-business, increase personal income, and even replenish the state’s gold reserves for a decent remuneration.

Forms of activity of gold miners

The field of activity of active and energetic people has always been vast and varied. Gold mining, although dangerous at times, does not necessarily require a high-tech base and large financial resources. Gold mining can be carried out by individuals, large firms, and government agencies. At the same time, the Russian state either took an active role in gold mining or outsourced gold mining in Russia to individuals. At the present stage, corporations such as Kinross Gold, OJSC Yuzhuralzoloto, OJSC Severstal, etc. are mainly involved in gold. Until recently, gold mining in Russia by individuals was practiced in much smaller volumes.

Algorithm for obtaining a license

To become the owner of the coveted gold mining license, you must complete the following points:

select the plot of land you are interested in at an auction held on the Rosnedra website. The site may also be offered during the competition;
fill out an auction (competition) participant form;
provide the event organizers, upon their request, with all necessary documents;
win the event;
get the desired license.

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 freer. The state included additional payments for gold miners and gave them the right to develop the richest gold mines. To intensify labor, they distributed housing, vouchers to sanatoriums, etc. Before the Great Patriotic War, every resident of the country over 18 years of age who had not previously received a 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 losers, when leaving, destroyed equipment, disabled mines, and did not allow workers to function.

Contents and cost of the license

If you are, after all, a private entrepreneur and have received such a necessary document, this means that you have the right to 20 years, during which you can mine precious metals and stones on an agreed plot of land. If you also have plans to engage in geological exploration there, then another 5 years will be added to the period of 20 years. Total - 25 years to experience the craft of a miner.

In the case of private gold mining, everything is a little less rosy - only 5 years are given. You will have 15 acres of work space, which will have to be processed almost manually, with a metal detector, since the use of heavy equipment, and simply attracting additional workers for individual entrepreneurs, is prohibited. Diving to a depth of more than 5 meters is also prohibited. There is also a regulation on the mass of gold mined - up to ten kilograms.

Where can you mine gold?

First of all, the restriction affects the ability to operate special equipment. Private entrepreneurs do not have the opportunity to use mining and geological exploration equipment.

It is prohibited to blow up anything, develop anything or influence quarries. Not all mining sites are available either. Free people are allowed to mine gold in several places:

Magadan Region;
placer site, where there are small reserves of gold, not exceeding 10 kg;
areas no larger than 0.15 square meters. m.;
at a depth of not less than 5 m.

Document requirements

In addition to paying for the mining permit, the applicant will also need to present a copy of his passport, an application for registration in accordance with the established form and a receipt for payment of the state duty.

By the way, the result of your request for permission can sometimes come only a month after completing all the necessary actions. So, you'll have to wait a little.

Recommendations for working with a metal detector

A metal detector greatly facilitates the search for gold and reduces the time spent washing waste rock. For those who have decided where to look for nuggets using this device, I recommend choosing a device with pulsed high-frequency radiation. The market offers a huge number of expensive professional models and budget options that are suitable for beginners.

A metal detector determines the presence of gold in a given area, after which the soil is mined using a mini dredge.

Search in waste placers

Since modern gold extraction methods are not 100% efficient, washing waste soil can give good results. If you're lucky, you'll find a large nugget. When washing the soil, there is a high probability that large nuggets will get into the waste rock: due to their large size, they do not settle in the small cells of the dredge and can be washed away by high water pressure.

Search in new areas

The most promising will be the search for alluvial deposits. Most often, gold is found in rivers, old river beds, on mountain slopes, and at places where rock masses moved during the Ice Age.

There is a high probability of finding a precious metal anywhere, especially if there is rock of volcanic origin, granitoids, or quartz veins nearby.

Bypassing the license

But what to do if the golden sparkle in your eyes is already preventing you from sleeping at night, but for one reason or another it is not possible for you to obtain a license? There is another way. You need to find a company that mines gold. Agree with its representatives to assign you a “workplace” somewhere on the dumps of their company. It is possible in those places where there is enough gold for one person, but the development of this place on an industrial scale is no longer profitable.

Naturally, the company should have obvious benefits from cooperation with you. And what could be more obvious than the percentage of profit from any substance you extract? In general, this scheme is realistic and justifies itself. However, it is quite rare. This is because such “breadcrumbs” from the “tables” of large companies are collected, most often, by former employees or good friends of members of the same companies. That is, all the hot spots have already been sorted out. But luck is such a thing.

Instructions for Beginners

As additional manual equipment, a sieve placed on a tray is used. It will separate large stones from small particles. In addition, you must adhere to the following recommendations:

It makes sense to choose a place where a tree has fallen into the water or large stones are visible from it.
The optimal depth of the river is 15 cm. If you get closer to the shore, silt and debris will become a problem. Move further away and it becomes more difficult to work.
You need to look in the upper layer of bottom rocks. At a depth of up to 10 cm there are small grains. From 10 to 30 cm – small nuggets. More – 30 large specimens.

Important to remember! You can make a mistake when washing. Mica interferes with its shine. Pyrite is a mineral that looks like gold-bearing sand grains.

Do not assume that the work is seasonal. In winter, it becomes even easier to do. You can travel over rough terrain on skis. It is in frozen water that the current transports particles. Panning is the easiest and most inexpensive way to extract gold from sand at home. The entire list of methods is divided into types.

Extraction method

If we take into account all the amendments and conditions for the extraction of gold by individuals, there are not many ways to master it. Namely, an open mining method. Tens, hundreds, thousands of kilograms of rock with gold veins pass through the hands of miners. The ore is crushed and exposed to water - a process of leaching. However, such a process is not the most productive, and even requires a lot of time and effort. Therefore, it can be replaced by amalgamation or heap leaching.

How is gold extracted from ore?

Most companies today extract gold from ore. This process is carried out in several ways:

In placers, which is available to ordinary individual entrepreneurs.
By processing recycled materials.
Through the development of primary deposits.
Using artisanal methods, such as water washing and amalgamation.

The most effective way is to develop primary deposits, but it is not available to everyone. In this case, during operation, extraction occurs along with quartz, in the veins of which the precious metal lies.

Handicraft methods will only be effective if expensive structures are used. What methods of this type exist?

Flushing. It is rarely used, as it requires a lot of physical effort and time.
Amalgamation. An effective method of extraction, but very expensive. Based on the properties of mercury to form the necessary compounds with gold.
Cyanidation. Most often used by prospectors. This technique requires the use of hydrocyanic acid, which can dissolve gold.

Before starting gold mining, a prospector must understand that the efficiency of work will depend on the size of the investment. It is not possible to achieve high profits from private activities. A license for individuals is issued for only 5 years, and activities without permits can lead to criminal liability.

Note to scammers

If you, as an individual, have not reached an agreement with any of the gold mining enterprises, have not issued a license (or have expired), but are still engaged in gold mining on the territory of the Russian Federation, you will not have the most pleasant conversation with law enforcement agencies. An administrative fine of 5,000 rubles along with confiscation of everything you mined plus your tools.

If you have mined precious metals worth more than a million rubles (especially large amounts), then, according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, you can be imprisoned for three long years. If you were “with friends,” then 3 years turns into 7 years, coupled with a fine of one million to three million rubles.

To obtain the latest data regarding licenses, state duties and conditions for gold mining, you can go to the official website of the Department of Subsoil Use of the Central Federal District.

Gold-bearing tailings

Of course, the time of the discoverer of gold deposits Erofei Markov is long gone, and the Middle Urals no longer bears the status of the Russian Klondike. Now the region accounts for about ten percent of the country's precious metal production. But experts assure that the Greater Urals, including the Sverdlovsk region, which concentrates 47.6 percent of the total gold reserves of the Urals Federal District, is still the largest gold mining area in the Russian Federation. The problem is that old fields are depleted, and new ones require high costs.

— In industries closely related to the environment, the costs of solving environmental problems are included in the price of the final product and can amount to up to 95 percent of it. Of course, we have gold, but we need to invest in its extraction. Processing of imported raw materials is an interesting option that allows you to use the capacity of factories using customer-supplied raw materials. Although when using tolling schemes, the level of profit may be lower, despite preferential taxation, says Maxim Maramygin, director of the Institute of Finance and Law of USUE.

As economists explain, tolling is the processing of raw materials on a toll basis. According to this scheme, the owner of the raw materials and the finished product is exclusively the supplier company. The processor receives a fixed fee for the actions performed. For the first, this is a way to reduce production costs, for the second, it is an opportunity to load production capacity.

In tolling, the owner of the ore and the finished product is the supplier. The processor is paid only for capacity utilization

“Tolling can be used to further support the price of gold and the value of gold and foreign exchange reserves,” continues Maxim Maramygin. — In a situation where the stability of the dollar raises questions, the stability of the ruble increasingly depends on gold. When they talk about importing gold, they want to support the price of it. In recent years, a number of countries have been actively buying the precious metal, but are now selling it, so its value may fall. Tolling is a method of withdrawing excess gold from the market, with the help of which Russia will be able to predictably influence the level of world prices for it. Another plus is production capacity utilization.

However, not all experts welcome the import of raw materials - it is not economically feasible. And almost everyone agrees that the main way to increase production is independent production, despite the fact that it is unlikely to be able to increase it overnight.

— In the north of the Urals there are promising but hard-to-reach deposits. Their development requires investments, including foreign ones, says Alexander Semyachkov, head of the center for economics and environmental management at the Institute of Economics of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. — We also need to invest in reconnaissance. Explored reserves of Russian gold have been used since Soviet times, but they are almost exhausted. Today this process is sluggish, although licenses for end-to-end exploration and production are being issued.

In the meantime, Ural gold production is decreasing year by year. In 2019, enterprises belonging to the Union of Gold Miners of the Urals produced a little more than six thousand kilograms. All, with the exception of the Neiva prospector artel and the Bashkir gold mining Ural-Nord, which works in the Ivdel area, where resources are running out, Bolshaya Umpia is unattainable. In the territory of the cedar reserve, organizations are prohibited from mining, but competitors are thriving there: individual “hunters.”

— The regional Ministry of Natural Resources is talking about a ban on transferring these lands from the category of “parks.” It’s a paradox: they themselves do not have the right to change the category, but the feds cannot put it up for auction because it is a protected area,” states Yastrebkov.

According to gold miners, the industry is in a fever for one more reason: by order of the Russian government, it is forbidden to touch forest areas along the banks of rivers, but alluvial precious metal mining is carried out precisely in floodplains.

— A solution could be the transfer of the right to manage subsoil (at least placer deposits, not ore deposits) to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Gold miners promise to clean up the forest and stop predatory mining in the industry. They don't have the right to do so yet. If the noose was “released” even a little, production volume would immediately increase by 20 percent per year. And in a year another 20,” Yastrebkov predicts.

Another reserve is the use of old “tails”. According to Alexander Semyachkov, new technologies for processing gold ore have emerged, which make it possible to continue working at old deposits. For example, at Berezovsky now only 700 kilograms of yellow metal are mined per year (in the post-war years - more than 2,000 tons per year - Ed.). The gold content of the ore is only 1.7 grams per ton, while production of less than 3.5 grams per ton in the world is considered unpromising.

The forestry department of the RG region explained that the federal government has already amended the resolution on the procedure for changing the boundaries of natural parks and reserves. To exclude a site from the list of specially protected natural areas, the Union of Gold Miners needs to collect a package of documents.

Prospects for innovation

If we consider that a share of 10% of all gold production comes from the so-called “black” market and “black” miners, then we can understand that the legalization of mining will return not only officially mined gold to the state treasury, but will also add income in the form of payment duties. Add to this the increase in the country's gold reserves, the increase in jobs, the increase in the solvency of the population, as well as its involvement in one of the most expensive industries in the world - and you get a pretty promising start.

Passivity of private gold mining

Reasons that contributed to the passivity of free miners:

Technical. In the modern technological world, gold is mined primarily during the daily activities of mining and processing plants and individual special machines - dredges. Industrial gold mining is much more efficient; manual labor cannot be compared with machine labor.
Legal. Even in modern times, the state has for a long time limited the activities of small non-governmental organizations and individuals. Until recent years, the law openly sided with large companies.

Calculation of prices for hydrogeological services for well licensing

Type of service	Cost for 1 unit/plot, rub.
Development of hydrogeological conclusion	20000
Well geophysical survey	from 20 000
Restoration of the passport and registration card for the well (if necessary)	from 20 000
Design of the ZSO	100 000
Support of the ZSO project during the examination of the Federal Budgetary Institution of Health and Epidemiology	50 000
Obtaining a SEZ under the ZSO in Rospotrebnadzor	from 50 000
Laboratory testing of water samples from a well (for 1 well)	from 5 000
Obtaining a SEZ for a water body	from 50 000
Development and approval by Rosgeolexpertiza of a subsoil study project	from 50 000
Assessment of groundwater reserves and approval of reserves in the FBU GKZ (TKZ)	from 300,000
Drawing up and approval of a project for the development of groundwater deposits	from 250,000
Cost of obtaining a license for the right to use subsoil	from 70 000