Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 13
Trend:
Uzbek government officially legalized the prospecting of precious metals since March 1, Trend reports via Uzbek media.
Last year, Uzbek President signed a decree "On measures to create conditions for the prospecting of precious metals."
The document says that, despite the measures taken, social tension is growing in some regions of the country and the criminogenic situation is worsening. In particular, this is due to unauthorized mining of precious metals.
The mining of precious metals acquired a special scope in the Navoi, Samarkand and Bukhara regions which leads to shadow turnover and the illegal export of precious metals abroad.
However, nowadays, the mining of precious metals is included in the list of activities where individual entrepreneurs can be engaged without a legal entity.
Licenses for the subsoil use for mining precious metals will be issued by Uzbek State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources for a period of three years.
The Cabinet of Ministers will annually approve a list of permitted sites for mining, based on proposals from the State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources.