“Gold rules the world” – these words from the recent past are still relevant today. “Ducats shine in the eyes” is a sure sign of the gold rush that has taken possession of a person. Pirates and conquistadors, kings and emperors, greedy bankers and oligarchs, treasure hunters and, of course, pioneer prospectors - modern garimpeiros are subject to this virtual disease. The gold rush epidemic has always accompanied the "gold boom" - the next discovery of a large gold province. At the end of the century before last and the beginning of the last century, one boom was replaced by another. After California, the boom hit Alaska and northern Canada; for South Africa and Australia. The boom was accompanied by a noticeable migration of the male half of humanity. Prospectors obsessed with gold rush, armed with a pick and a shovel, brigades and one by one moved to the place of discovery of the next gold-bearing region in the hope of good luck. The boom suddenly exploded, then gradually subsided; lone miners were supplanted by medium and large mining companies, which, in the end, were absorbed by the sharks of the gold business of our time - supercorporations. In our time, they divided all the gold in the world into approximately equal shares.

In 1850-1870, the "gold rush" reached the territory of Russia and engulfed the whole of Eastern Siberia - rich placers of gold were discovered in the Barguzin taiga, Bodaibo, Aldan, Dauria, and numerous mines immediately began to appear. Intensive settlement of lands in Transbaikalia and the Amur region began. In the same period, the first studies of the geology of Transbaikalia, Yakutia and the Far East were carried out. And the discovery of the Karalon mines in the Muya taiga (1898) attracted a new mass of miners here. Thus, on the territory of the modern Republic of Buryatia, gold mining began, mainly from rich placers. The amount of gold mined from them steadily increased until 1914. The First World War, a series of revolutions that dragged on in Transbaikalia Civil War, accompanied by a wave of banditry, did not contribute to the development of gold mining.

AT Soviet years gold mining was carried out almost exclusively from placers and did not exceed 1.5-2 tons per year. Since 1939, the search for primary sources of placers began in Buryatia. As a result, first the Kedrovskoye deposit was discovered (1940), then Zun-Kholba (1955) and in 1959 Irokinda.

In 1991, with the establishment of CJSC Buryatzoloto, work on the development of the main ore deposits of the Republic - Zun-Kholby and Irokinda reached a new qualitative level. In 1995, Buryatzoloto became an open joint stock company and, immediately after that, 30% of the company's shares were sold to the Canadian company High River Gold (HRG) through a public auction. By 2005, HRG had increased its stake in Buryatzoloto to 85%. OJSC Buryatzoloto is now managed by the Russian Severstal-resurs, which at the end of 2008 became the owner of a 53% stake in HRG. In addition to Zun-Kholba and Irokinda, HRG owns placers in the Tsipikan River valley. With the commissioning of the Zun-Kholbinsky mine (1994), production in Buryatia increased sharply to 5.0 tons, and then for five years did not exceed the level of 4.5-4.6 tons per year.

In 1997 the development of the Kedrovskoye deposit of OAO "Artel of Prospectors" Zapadnaya" began. Between 2000 and 2011, the ratio of ore and placer gold production changed from 61% and 39% to 80% and 20%, respectively. Thus, at present, most of the gold in Buryatia is mined from primary deposits. Over the entire period under review, more than 200 tons of gold were mined in Buryatia.

This review article is based on data available to the author, published in scientific and periodical press, Internet sources, as well as author's expert assessments. The main goal of this work is to assess the prospects for the development of gold mining in the Republic of Buryatia for the near and medium term (10–15 years).

Rice. 1. Location of the main gold deposits on the territory of the Republic of Buryatia.

Brief information about Buryatia (Data from the official portal of the government of the Republic of Buryatia (http://egov-buryatia.ru).

The Republic of Buryatia is a subject of the Russian Federation and is part of the Siberian Federal District. Administrative and economic and cultural center Republic is the city of Ulan-Ude. Distance by railway from Ulan-Ude to Moscow - 5519 km, and to the Pacific Ocean - 3500 km. The area of ​​the Republic of Buryatia is 351.3 thousand sq. km. Buryatia is located in the southern part of Eastern Siberia, south and east of Lake Baikal. In the south, the Republic of Buryatia borders on Mongolia, in the southwest - on the Republic of Tyva, in the northwest - on the Irkutsk region, in the east - on the Trans-Baikal Territory (Fig. 1).

There are 21 municipal districts on the territory of the republic. The population is 974.3 thousand people, the average population density is 3.0 people. per 1 sq. km. The urban population is about 60% of the total population of the republic, the rural population is about 40%, about 30% of the population of the republic lives in the capital of the republic. The indigenous population of the republic are Buryats, Evenks and Soyots. The national composition of the republic, according to the 1989 census, was as follows: Russians - 70%, Buryats - 24%, Ukrainians - 2.2%, other nationalities - 3.8%.

The climate of Buryatia is sharply continental, with cold winter and hot summer. On the territory of Buryatia there is a large part (about 60% of the coastline) of Lake Baikal - the deepest freshwater lake in the world. Baikal is 636 km long and 25 to 79 km wide. The total length of the Baikal coastline is 2100 km, and the water area is 31.5 thousand sq.m. The maximum depth is 1637 m, the average depth is 730 m. Baikal is a natural reservoir of one fifth of the world's fresh water reserves of the highest quality.

Geological structure and metallogeny

The uniqueness of the geological structure of the territory of Buryatia is associated with its location in the Central Asian (Mongol-Okhotsk) folded belt, with a wide development of granite rocks (the Angara-Vitim granite batholith is one of the largest in the world, with an outcrop area in the north of Buryatia of more than 100,000 sq. km), the presence of an intracontinental rift zone, in which the pearl of Russia is located - the unique Baikal.

Geologically, Buryatia is a very heterogeneous territory. Almost its entire area is composed of crystalline rocks that come to the surface or are covered with a cover of loose Quaternary deposits. Metamorphic rocks of the highest stage of metamorphism compose separate massifs or blocks: Severo-Muiskaya. South Muiskaya. Amalatskaya. Baikal. Khamar-Dabanskaya, and finally, a series of boulders - both narrow, elongated, and short, isometric - in the Eastern Sayan. On the folded Baikal-Caledonian basement there are strata partly related to the Upper Paleozoic, but mainly to the Lower and Middle Mesozoic. Buryatia is a country of igneous rocks, which occupy almost 50% of the area of ​​the entire republic. Their abundance, petrographic and geological diversity, various contact effects on host rocks, hydrothermal activity associated with intrusions led to the formation of numerous ore occurrences and deposits in the territory of Buryatia (gold, molybdenum, tungsten, uranium, titanium, iron, asbestos, fluorite, graphite, etc.). ).

The main gold deposits of Buryatia are concentrated within two regions - East Sayansky and South Muysky. The region of the Eastern Sayan is a very complex fold-block structure, composed of ancient metamorphosed rocks, with a wide development of intrusive formations. Within the area, 9 gold-bearing zones were identified, confined to large tectonic faults, and 15 ore fields within their boundaries.

Geologically, the South Muya region is very complex. The main structural unit of the region is the South-Muya Archean block, bounded from the west by the Kilyano-Irokinda and from the east by the Tuldunskaya mobile zones of deep faults. At the intersections of the longitudinal and transverse fault zones, structural nodes were formed, to which the main gold ore fields are confined. There are five gold ore zones and more than 10 ore fields in the region. The Irokinda ore field is entirely located within the South Muya block. To the east of the block is the Kedrovskoye ore field, to the west - Petelinskoye, to the south of Vitimskoye and Tilishinskoye. Alluvial placers are widely developed in the region, which have been mined for more than 150 years by prospectors.

Prospects for the discovery of new gold deposits of various genetic and morphological types are: Okinsky, Bauntovsky, Severo-Baikalsky, Muysky and Zakamensky geological and economic regions. The metallogenic analysis of the resource potential of these areas allows us to confidently predict the discovery of at least 5–6 large and a number of medium-sized deposits of ore gold.

Buryatia, occupying a little more than 2 percent of the area of ​​Russia, contains a large gold potential in its bowels. In terms of balance reserves of gold, the Republic of Buryatia ranks 14th among the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Alluvial gold reserves make up 16.4%, ore gold - 53.7%. About 30% of gold reserves are contained in complex polymetallic deposits, which are not currently being developed. The distributed fund contains 100% of ore gold reserves and 70.5% of alluvial gold. The least attractive for mining placer deposits remained in the unallocated fund - small, remote, with low metal content and buried placers. The balance reserves of gold in Buryatia are recorded in 304 deposits, including 282 placer deposits; 19 indigenous, 1 man-made and 2 complex. On the whole, as of 01.01.2010, gold reserves in the republic amounted to 100.7 tons, the tested forecast resources of ore gold are estimated at 1,311 tons, including cat. R 1 -117 t, R 2 - 448 t, R 3 - 741 t.

On the territory of the republic, the balance reserves are distributed as follows: East Sayan region - 44%, adjacent Severo-Baikal, Muisky and Ikat-Bagdarinsky regions - 43%, Dzhidinsky and Kurba-Eravnensky regions - 13%.

In addition to traditional gold deposits of the quartz-vein type and mineralized zones, new types of gold deposits are predicted in the territory of Buryatia: stockwork gold-porphyry; weathering crust deposits; gold-enriched complex deposits. According to the latest estimate by Buryatnedra, the estimated predicted resources (P4 metallogenic potential) of gold within the Republic of Buryatia amount to 4,100 tons of gold.

It should be noted that the Kurba-Eravninsky ore district also has explored reserves and resources of gold. Here, zinc ores of the Nazarovsky deposit and a number of other, less significant, objects are gold-bearing. The extraction of gold from these deposits is possible with the complex processing of ores.

Most of the alluvial deposits listed on the balance sheet have reserves of less than 200 kg. The interest of enterprises in such placers in last years decreased. The loss of interest of entrepreneurs in placers is due to the fact that under the existing legislation, involvement in the development of placers with reserves of less than 100-200 kg is economically unprofitable.

Main ore deposits

Currently, OJSC Buryatzoloto develops three deposits of hard gold with two mines - Zun-Kholbinskoye (Kholbinskiy mine), Irokindinskoye and Kvartsevoye (Irokindinskiy mine), which contain 95% of the reserves listed on the balance sheet of the enterprise (Fig. 1).

The deposits of the Kholbinskoye ore field, including Zun-Kholbinskoye, Barun-Kholbinskoye and Vodorazdelnoe, are located in the southeastern part of the Eastern Sayan, within the Okinsky district of Buryatia, 200 km west of the Slyudyanka railway station of the Trans-Siberian Railway and 60 km from the village of Mondy, located on the highway Slyudyanka - Kultuk MPR. The deposits of the Kholbinskaya group are confined to a single northwestern ore-controlling shear and shear zone 15 km long and 3–4 km thick. The Barun-Kholbinskoye deposit occurs in the Archean gneiss-granites in the exocontact of the granite massif and is overlain by the Proterozoic shale-carbonate stratum, screening the spread of gold mineralization. The deposit is represented by a series of parallel ore-bearing zones. The length of explored ore columns is 30–80 m along strike and 250–300 m along dip. The average gold content in them is 34.2 g/t. The Zun-Kholbinskoe deposit is controlled by the tectonic contact of Proterozoic limestones with Cambrian plagiogranites.

The Zun-Kholba deposit occurs within a narrow anticline located between two Archean intrusions. The anticline is composed of highly folded and metamorphosed Proterozoic volcanics and sedimentary rocks (limestones, sandstones, crystalline schists, and tuffs). Gold mineralization is controlled by 3 subparallel shear zones extending axially along the anticline. Gold mineralization is localized within 13 sub-vertical and echeloned gold-bearing mineralized shear zones containing quartz-sulfide veins with a strike length of 50 to 100 m. The thickness of the latter varies from 0.3 to 8 m, averaging approximately 2 m. The length of the ore bodies is approximately 3 km, and they are traced along the dip to a depth of 1 km. Gold mineralization is largely associated with quartz-sulfide veins, and also occasionally occurs in altered wall rocks. Pyrite makes up 7–8% of the volume of mineralized rocks. The gold within the ore is interspersed and very fine-grained (less than 0.07 mm).

At the Vodorazdelnoye deposit, one quartz-sulfide vein with a bonanz distribution of gold (up to 20–40 kg/t) is of commercial importance.

A mine operates at the Zun-Kholbinskoye deposit Kholbinsky and an enrichment plant with a hydrometallurgical shop (JSC Buryat-zoloto has been developing the deposit since 1991). According to the results of exploration work, the reserves amounted to 83.7 tons with an average gold grade in ores of 10.9 g/t, and taking into account the extinguished production in 1991 and 1992. – 86.0 tons. In total, about 40 tons of gold have been mined to date. In 2010, production amounted to 2030 kg, the average grade was 8.3 g/t of gold. The table summarizes the reserves and resources of the deposit (according to HRG).

Tab. one.

To date, the reserves of the upper, mountainous part of the deposit have been practically depleted and deep mine horizons of the deposit are being developed. Due to the exploration of the estimated gold reserves of the Zun-Kholbinskoye deposit, taking into account the resulting increase in reserves, as well as the involvement in the development of nearby deposits - Granitnoye, Samartinskoye, Levo-Samartinskoye, Pravoberezhnoye and Adjacent (with total reserves of 1728 kg), the life of the mine may be extended by 10 years. The life of the mine can also be extended by evaluating the possibility of involving the reserves of the Zun-Kholbinskoye deposit, written off in 1997 and 2002.

Mine Irokinda has been developing the deposit of the same name since 1991 and the Kvartsevoye deposit since 2000. The Irokindinskoye deposit is located in the Bauntovsky district at a distance of 50 km from the BAM, with which it is connected by a motorway. The Irokinda ore field is confined to Archean rocks represented by garnet-pyroxene, biotite-garnet, and other paragneiss. Igneous rocks of various compositions, from ultrabasic to basic, are limited within its limits. Archean metamorphic rocks form a meridional-trending syncline in the central part of the ore field with a northward dip of the axis. Gold-quartz veins are localized in extended (up to 10–12 km) tectonic shear zones. More than 100 veins have been identified in the ore field, about 20 have been explored in detail, the rest are under study. Most of the veins are characterized from the surface by poor gold content, although there are examples of explored ore columns, when large and rich ore bodies were represented on the surface by veinlets with poor mineralization. The veins are discontinuous in the structures, their length is from 60 m to 1500 m and the thickness is from 0.1 m to 5 m. In the areas of bulges, the veins often contain xenoliths of host rocks. Ore columns within the veins do not exceed 30–120 m in strike and 250 m in dip. The boundaries of the columns are determined by the results of sampling. The ore composition is simple, essentially quartz with an admixture of sulfides up to 0.5%. But in exceptional cases (zh. Osinovaya), the number of the latter can reach 5-6%. Gold in the ores is free, the average size of gold particles is 2-3 mm, fineness varies from 560-850. The average grades in ore columns for the Irokindinskoye deposit are: gold 28.0 g/t, silver 37.7 g/t. 16 ore bodies are mined. In total, about 30 tons of gold have been mined at the mine so far. The gold reserves of the Irokinda deposit after exploration amounted to 9.3 tons with an average gold grade of 23.1 g/t. During 1991–2002, the mine produced 13.9 tons of gold at the deposit. During the same time, as a result of geological exploration work, OJSC Buryatzoloto received an increase in reserves - 16.4 tons, thereby providing the Irokindinsky mine with a simple reproduction of the mineral resource base. In 2010, production amounted to 2160 kg, the average gold grade was 8.3 g/t. The table summarizes the reserves and resources of the deposit (according to HRG):

Tab. 2.

With the maximum gold production level of 2,200 kg reached, the Irokindinskiy mine is no more than 3 years old. The period of existence of this enterprise can be increased due to the successful continuation of prospecting, appraisal and exploration work on the area of ​​the Irokindinskoye ore cluster, which includes the Irokindinskoye, Petelinskoye and Tilishma ore fields. The estimated gold resources in this area, previously tested by TsNIGRI as of 01.07.03, total 141.5 tons, incl. cat. Р1 –15.5 t, cat. P2 - 60 t and cat. P3 - 66 tons.

Mine Kedrovsky has been developing the field of the same name since 1997. The Kedrovskoye deposit is located in the Bauntovsky district at a distance of 50 km from the Shivery BAM station and the village. Vitim, which is connected by a highway. The deposit was explored during 1944–1961. Gold-bearing quartz veins and near-vein metasomatites. The type of ores is poor sulfide quartz and quartz-sulfide. The resulting reserves amounted to about 6 tons of gold at an average grade of 16 g/t. In 1954–1960, experimental mining of the Barguzinskaya-1 vein was carried out. However, there is no information about the amount of gold mined. More than 100 veins are known within the Kedrovskoe ore field. The distribution of gold in the ores of the Kedrovskoye ore field is very uneven - ore columns in the veins are replaced by vast areas with low metal content. There are known cases of discovery of nuggets weighing up to 300 g (Osinovaya-II vein). The length of the veins is more than 400 m along the strike and along the dip, the thickness is from 0.1 to 10 m. Of the 36 known veins that were marked on the map of the licensed site of Kedrovka, at present only six have been tested to a depth. In total, about 20 tons of gold have been mined to date. In 2010, production amounted to 755 kg. The table summarizes the reserves and resources of the deposit (according to OAO Artel Prospectors Zapadnaya):

State and problems of the gold mining industry

In terms of gold mining, Buryatia ranks 9th in Russia and third in the Siberian Federal District. The modern raw material base of gold mining relies on the deposits of the Okinsky, Bauntovsky, Muysky, Severo-Baikalsky, Khorinsky and Zakamensky regions. In 2010, gold production in the republic decreased by 8.8% compared to 2009 (to 6.021 tons), including: from primary deposits - by 5.4% (to 4.981 tons) and from alluvial deposits - by 21.9 % (up to 1.04 t). The main contribution to gold production was provided (kg): Buryatzoloto OJSC (subsidiary of Nordgold N.V. Severstal) – 4170 (11% less than in 2009); LLC A/s Zapadnaya - 755 (30.3% more than in 2009); CJSC Vitimgeoprom - 302 (22.7% more than in 2009); LLC "A / s" Sininda-1 "- 232 (35.7% less than in 2009); LLC A/s Kurba - 199 (25.5% less than in 2009) and LLC Priisk Tsipikansky - 173 (6.9% more than in 2009). Gold mining in Buryatia in 2011 remained at the level of 6.1 tons. Most of the gold in the republic is mined at three primary gold deposits proper. The rest (18%) was mined from placers.

According to the dynamics of ore gold mining for almost 7 years (from 2004 to 2011), the amount of ore gold mined has been at the same level and averages about 5 tons. The main mines of the republic operate relatively stably, however, in relation to 2004, Kholbinskoye and Irokindinskoye also have a downward trend in metal production, which may become more pronounced in the next 2–3 years. The reasons for this are a decrease in the average gold content in marketable ore and a sharp increase in the cost of mined metal due to ever-increasing mining conditions, as well as a decrease in funding for geological exploration. And at the Kedrovskoye field, on the contrary, there is a tendency to increase production.

As of 01.10.2010 (ore gold), subsoil users hold 4 mining licenses, 27 licenses for geological exploration and associated mining, and 3 licenses for geological exploration. Currently, three primary gold deposits are being developed (Zun-Kholbinskoye, Irokindinskoye and Kedrovskoye), which account for 77% of the balance reserves of ore gold. As of January 01, 2010, the availability of proven reserves at operating mining enterprises is: Irokinda - 1.3 years, Kholbinsky - 3-5 years, Kedrovskoye - 10 years.

Rice. 2. Dynamics and forecast of gold mining in the Republic of Buryatia (Bakhtin et al. 2007) with additions.

The following ore objects are being prepared for development: Konevinskoye (OOO Khuzhir-Enterprise), Nerundinskoye (OOO Sininda-1), Rudnaya Gorka (Troitskoye) - (LLC Troitskoye), Barun-Kholbinskoye (ZAO Zun-Khada ), Zun-Ospinskoye (A/s Kitoy LLC), Zegen-Golskoye (Olimp Mining Company LLC), in addition, the Ukuchikta and Vodorazdelnoye deposits are re-evaluated from new positions (from vein to vein-vein type of mineralization). The design annual gold production at the Barun-Kholbinskoye deposit is 300-400 kg, at the Zun-Ospinskoye deposit - 500 kg, the Konevinskoye deposit - 2 t, the Nerunda deposit - 1.5 t, the Rudnaya Gorka (Troitskoye) deposit - 1 t, and also when revaluing the Ukuchikta and Vodorazdelnoye deposits - 300 kg, the Zegen-Golskoye deposit - 2 tons.

According to V.I. Bakhtina and others (2007) (Exploration and protection of mineral resources, 2007, No. 12, p. 15-21) There are two options for the further development of the gold mining industry in the Republic of Buryatia. With active (500 million rubles, including the budget of the Russian Federation - 350 million rubles, own funds - 150 million rubles), with an annual increase in appropriations (at the expense of the budget of the Russian Federation - 150 million rubles, for own funds account - 100 million rubles) of exploration financing by 2020, the volume of production can reach 19,800 kg of gold (Fig. 2), with passive (270 million rubles, including the budget of the Russian Federation - 350 million rubles). , own funds - 150 million rubles), without an annual increase in appropriations, the financing of exploration and development of gold will not exceed 11,000 kg.

Gold (placer). For the development of alluvial deposits, subsoil users of Buryatia had (as of 01.01.2007) 61 mining licenses, 76 licenses for geological exploration and associated mining, 29 licenses for geological exploration. Placer gold mining is carried out in the North-Baikal, Muisky, Bauntovsky, Khorinsky and Zakamensky districts, where 228 small placers (20-500 kg) with low and medium gold content (400-1000 mg / m3) have been explored. In 2010, gold production from alluvial deposits amounted to 1.04 tons. the largest number placer gold, followed by the Muisky, Severo-Baikalsky and Zakamensky districts. The share of other districts (Khorinsky, Yeravninsky and Pribaikalsky) is not large (4%). Of the total number of enterprises developing alluvial gold deposits, 50% are provided with reserves for a period of less than three years. Among them are such stably operating enterprises as Sininda 1, Prospectors of Zakamensk and Karalon, Vitimgeoprom and Dzhida tungsten. Of the gold mining enterprises, 2 groups are distinguished: the first of which produces from 1.5 to 2.2 kg per worker, the second with a production level of 0.5-1.4 kg.

An increase in the volume of placer gold mining over three tons is possible, firstly, due to the involvement in the development of reserves (8196 kg) of deep-seated placers of the distributed fund and the state reserve, a significant proportion of fine and fine gold; thirdly, the involvement of gold-bearing weathering crusts. The Tsipikanskaya, Taloyskaya, Alakarskaya, Gorbylokskaya, Chininskaya, Vitimkanskaya and Malo-Amalatskaya depressions of the Bauntovsky region have great prospects for revealing placers of tectonic ledges, similar to the placers of the Tilishma ledge explored and currently exploited in the Muya region; Kydzhimitskaya, Alyanginskaya, Zazinskaya and Eravninskaya depressions of the Muisky and Kurba-Eravninsky districts. The predictive potential of such placers in Buryatia has not been assessed. Great potential - 80-100 tons of placer gold is available in the so-called "yellow sections", common in the Bauntovsky district in the basins of the rivers Karaftit, Vitimkan and others. Solving the problem of extracting fine gold from these sections will strengthen the resource base of placer gold and increase the production of placer gold or keep it at the level of 5.0 tons per year.

Conclusion

The development strategy of the Republic of Buryatia provides for an increase in gold production to 19,800 kg by 2020 (Bakhtin et al., 2007). A number of promising gold deposits are being prepared for development in the republic: Konevinskoye (Khuzhir-Enterprise LLC), Nerundinskoye (Sininda-1 LLC), Rudnaya Gorka (Troitskoye) - (Troitskoye LLC), Barun-Kholbinskoye (Zun -Khada"), Zun-Ospinskoye (LLC "a / s Kitoy"), Zegen-Golskoye (LLC "Olymp Mining Company"), in addition, a reassessment is being carried out from new positions (from vein to vein-vein type of mineralization) of the Ukuchikta and Watershed.

Despite the almost 60-year history of geological exploration, the knowledge of the gold ore regions of the Republic of Buryatia is insufficient.

At the same time, in relation to 2004, the Kholbinsky and Irokindinsky mines of JSC Buryatzoloto continue to have a downward trend in metal production, which may become more pronounced in the next 2-3 years. On the other hand, the reverse trend is observed at the Ukdrovsky mine of OAO Artel Prospectors Zapadnaya. Provision with explored reserves of developed deposits is low: Kedrovskoye - 9 years, Irokinda - 2 years, Zun-Kholbinsky - 5 years.

It is possible to increase the production of alluvial gold in the republic, firstly, by involving the existing reserves of deep-seated placers in the development, secondly, by processing hale-ephel dumps (GEO) along technogenic placers with a significant proportion of small and fine gold, and thirdly , the involvement of gold-bearing weathering crusts and placers of tectonic ledges, as well as gold-bearing “yellow sections”.

A.V. Volkov - IGEM RAS

Petrov V.G., Prosecutor of the Republic of Buryatia.

In recent years, in the Republic of Buryatia, the issues of extraction and turnover of jade have acquired particular relevance. More than 90% of Russian explored reserves of this stone are concentrated within the geographical boundaries of the Republic - there are deposits in the Muisky, Bauntovsky, Okinsky, Tunkinsky and Zakamensky regions. Despite the fact that this monomineral rock has not received a special legal status in our country, jade is of particular value in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.

Jade is characterized by high viscosity and oily sheen. Its strength is commensurate with good grades of steel, hardness is estimated at 5.5 - 6 points on the Mohs scale (hardness scale used by geologists to determine the relative hardness of minerals by comparing with the hardness of ten standard minerals), and the color spectrum of jade is very wide.

China was the first country where jade began to be used as an artistic material, here it was the subject of worship. In China, jade is called the "stone of life". It has always been a material that in the Celestial Empire was valued above gold and silver.

Today, China's own stone reserves, according to experts, are practically exhausted. In Russia, jade is not so in demand, moreover, we have deposits of jade not only in various shades of green, but also brown, black, honey, and also white, which has a special value.

All these circumstances caused a high demand for jade, primarily from the People's Republic of China, and as a result, the rapid involvement of jade reserves in economic circulation.

Meanwhile, the state of legality in the field of production and turnover cannot be assessed as favorable for a number of objective and subjective reasons.

An analysis of the law enforcement practice of the prosecutor's office of Buryatia revealed a number of conflicts of legal regulation in this area. The all-Russian classifier of minerals and groundwater, approved by the resolution of the State Standard of the Russian Federation, nephrite is classified as semi-precious stones, while by order of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation - to jewelry and ornamental stones.

Currently, 17 deposits of this stone have been explored in the Republic. However, legal development is carried out only at 8 of them, 9 deposits have been in the unallocated fund of the Federal Agency for Subsoil Use for many years. The absence of legal users of these areas contributed to the growth of the number of facts of illegal mining by the so-called black diggers.

Recently, Rosnedra has taken measures to involve these sites in economic circulation and hold auctions for the sale of the right to use subsoil. However, for various reasons, this work was not completed and licenses were not issued.

A serious problem remains the issue of unsettled responsibility of persons who have become winners of auctions for the sale of the right to use subsoil plots, but who have not paid one-time payments.

For example, one of the enterprises, which won the auction in 2011, did not pay the one-time payments declared by it in the amount of more than 26 billion rubles. As a result, the subsoil areas containing jade deposits, for which auctions were held, remained in the unallocated fund, which, of course, contributes to their plunder and illegal jade trafficking. To prevent such cases, in our opinion, could be the establishment of penalties for both the disruption of auctions and non-payment of one-time payments to the state budget.

The controlling bodies - the territorial departments of Rosprirodnadzor, Rostechnadzor, Rosnedra, for their part, did not show due consistency in the implementation of the powers granted. Frequently, the violations committed by subsoil users were ignored and the controllers did not respond.

The legalization of illegal mining of jade is also facilitated by the possibility of legal collection of geological collection materials. For this specific type of activity, the territorial bodies of the Federal Agency for Subsoil Use issue short-term licenses. According to the Law of the Russian Federation "On Subsoil", the collection of geological collection materials means the extraction of single samples of rock ores, rocks, minerals ... from natural outcrops, rock dumps. And, of course, without holding mountain and other types special works.

However, practice shows that under the guise of such licenses, subsoil users are engaged in illegal mining of jade using heavy equipment and even blasting. The volumes of stone mined under the guise of collecting collection materials (over 30 tons) indicate its industrial extraction. For example, in 2010-2011 licenses were issued for the right to collect geological, paleontological and other collection materials to individuals and legal entities in the jade-bearing regions of the Republic. During a joint inspection with the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Buryatia, it was established that the work at the site was organized on a grand scale - with the involvement of heavy equipment, labor, and special equipment. Management Federal Service on supervision in the field of nature management in the Republic of Buryatia, the perpetrators were brought to administrative responsibility. Since it is obvious that the "collection" licenses, in fact, were used to cover up the illegal industrial production of jade, the prosecutor's office of Buryatia came out with a demand to the regional Ministry of Natural Resources to exclude the facts of the illegal issuance of such licenses and, within its competence, take measures to legally regulate the issues of granting collection licenses. This practice has now been discontinued.

The problem of "black diggers" who mine jade not only in free territories, but also within the boundaries of deposits provided for use by conscientious entrepreneurs is of serious concern to the law enforcement and regulatory bodies of the Republic.

In 2011 - the first half of 2012, more than 40 reports of offenses in the jade industry were registered by law enforcement agencies, 7 criminal cases were initiated. And all of them are connected with the theft of mined stones from the territories of subsoil user organizations. The most characteristic case took place in January 2012. Then at night a group of citizens arrived to collect jade in the valleys of the Kitoy and Ilchir rivers. When approaching the territory of the deposit, which is in the use of OJSC "Baikalkvartssamotsvety", people were met by employees of the enterprise protecting the territory. Due to the conflict, the security guard fired several shots from a rifled hunting rifle, inflicting gunshot wounds on three citizens. One member of the group, who entered the territory of the deposit, was illegally held by security officers for 24 hours and received bodily injuries. According to these facts, internal affairs bodies have initiated and are investigating criminal cases.

In early October 2012, the investigative unit of the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Buryatia initiated a criminal case on the fact of the theft of jade with a total weight of at least 20 tons in the territory of the Bauntovsky district of the Republic. The damage caused is estimated by the investigating authorities at about 600 million rubles.

Unfortunately, in our opinion, the current criminal legislation does not fully meet the development of the situation in the field of subsoil use in general and in the field of jade turnover in particular.

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Article 191) establishes criminal liability for illegal traffic precious metals, natural precious stones or pearls. Jade, as a jewelry and ornamental stone, does not belong to this list, therefore, it is impossible to prosecute those responsible for its illegal extraction.

The problem of jade smuggling is also relevant. According to official data of subsoil users, in 2011 more than half of the jade mined in the Republic for the year was exported. However, according to the customs authorities, the total volume of stone exports within the borders of the Customs Union for the same period exceeded the production volumes by several times. Unofficial data are orders of magnitude larger than the data of state statistics. At the same time, the export of jade was carried out both legally - through the customs of the Ural, Far Eastern federal districts, Kazakhstan, within whose borders jade is not mined, and smuggled.

To solve the problem of counteracting the illegal trade in jade, the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic, in cooperation with regional government bodies, deputies of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, and law enforcement agencies, took a whole range of measures.

On our initiative, in March 2012, the issues of combating illegal jade trafficking were discussed by the Coordinating Meeting for Ensuring Law and Order in the Republic of Buryatia, and a specific action plan was adopted to strengthen the rule of law.

Today the majority decisions taken already implemented. A decision was initiated at the federal level on the issues of regulating the status of jade, amending Art. 191 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation by introducing criminal liability for the illegal circulation of jade along with precious metals, stones and pearls.

Measures have been taken to involve undeveloped jade deposits in the economic turnover. The Federal Agency for Subsoil Use organized tenders for the right to use subsoil plots containing jade.

In addition, it is proposed to establish a direct ban on the export of jade mined in the deposits of Buryatia through other customs authorities, as well as to consider the possibility of creating checkpoints for freight transport in areas where illegal jade mining is most widespread.

Today, by order of the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation, the Buryat customs has already been endowed with exclusive competence to carry out customs operations related to the acceptance of customs declarations and the release of jade mined in the Russian Federation.

At the initiative of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic, on the facts of concerted actions of participants in the auction for the right to use subsoil plots containing jade, aimed at overestimating the amount of a one-time payment for the use of subsoil and creating a situation that led to the cancellation of the results of nine auctions, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation sent the materials of the audit to the Federal Antimonopoly Service. Proposals have been sent to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of Russia to improve legislation in this area of ​​legal relations.

The history of Buryatia is much deeper and older, goes back to nomadic pagan tribes, Genghis Khan, intertwined with the Russian Cossacks and the formation of Russian statehood.

And, what is most interesting, at all times one of the most mysterious minerals of Buryatia has been an integral part of the history of the republic. It's about about jade.

Through me

In the emergence of an interesting historical phenomenon, characteristic only for our republic, perhaps not the last role was played by proximity to the eternal connoisseur of jade - China. Although ... It is known that during the times of scattered nomadic tribes, an ornamental stone was already valued and used as a bargaining chip. And Genghis Khan, who united the Mongolian world, carried with him a jade seal carved in the shape of a tiger, with a unique imprint.

The Russian state paid attention to jade in the 19th century, when the Cossacks-discoverers found deposits of the mineral in the mountains of the Eastern Sayan. The empire did not attach much importance to the mineral, they made knick-knacks from it and sometimes used it as a finishing stone in construction. Seriously returned to jade only in the Soviet years, when geologists discovered a scattering of deposits in Buryatia. Before the war, Ospinskoye, Gorlykgolskoye, Ulankhodinskoye deposits were discovered, it was found that jade is found on the Vitim River and its tributaries. Then, much later, in the 80s, jade was found not only in Baunt and Muya, but also in Zakamen, Tunka and Oka.

The times of perestroika and the crisis of the 90s, unfortunately, did not write the best page in the history of Buryat jade. But, fortunately, this period is over.

Decriminalization and temples

In 2013, President Vladimir Putin issued a decree instructing the Rostec State Corporation and the country's law enforcement agencies to decriminalize stone mining. In parallel with the cleansing of outright crime, they began to build an "industrial, state-oriented system for the extraction and processing of jade in the republic." The joint-stock company "Zabaikalsky Mining Enterprise" (JSC "ZGRP") was registered, which, over five years of successful activity, has demonstrated that the extraction of jade is not a crime, but a technological, transparent and useful work for the region, capable of bringing real benefits to both the state and local residents.

The head of Buryatia, Aleksey Sambuevich Tsydenov, highly appreciated the long-term work of the company in the republic: “ZGRP is the company with which other jade miners should take an example. This concerns the high quality of project preparation, their implementation, the quality of mining operations, and the volume of tax payments. The company creates jobs for residents of the region, pays them "white" salaries. Now they are experiencing an increase in the cost of the released stone, that is, the price of jade sold by the company has increased significantly. In turn, due to tax deductions that come from ZGRP, our republican budget revenues grow accordingly, the company definitely deserves the support of the region.”

In the period from 2014 and including the 1st quarter of 2018, taxes and insurance premiums were paid - 697 million rubles. Financial assistance was provided for socio-economic development over the same period - more than 49 million rubles.

You don't have to look far for an example. Buryatia is the center of Buddhism in Russia, and ZGRP takes an active part in the construction of datsans, allocating funds for the purchase of materials. For example, in the Kyakhtinsky district of Buryatia, the construction of the Vajrasatva Buddha Palace continues at the expense of ZGRP, the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia told the publication.

Recently, the media spread disturbing news: a temple of one of the local Buddhist communities was put up for auction. It was about 19 million rubles.

I have contacted many people for help on this issue. But only ZGRP responded to my request, - said the rector of the community "Lamrim" Choi-Dorji Budaev. - The management of this enterprise paid the required amount, and we saved the temple. We will be able to resume services soon. I can say that for ZGRP such a broad gesture will bring success in work and prosperity to employees and their families. And we will try to subsequently reimburse the company for this amount.

“I turned to many people for help… But only ZGRP responded to my request,” said Choi-Dorji Budaev, rector of the Lamrim Buddhist community.

strong support

Since the foundation of ZGRP JSC, there have been positive changes in the Bauntovsky district. From the first days of work, the enterprise determined that one of the important missions should be social responsibility to the population. Hundreds of residents of the region and the republic have received stable and well-paid jobs in ZGRP. Nearly half of the company's employees are residents of Baunt. People love working conditions. And indeed, there is everything you need: furniture, TV, cable TV. You can go to the gym, play billiards or table tennis. Football and volleyball tournaments are held. For uninterrupted communication, a telephone line has been installed, the Internet is working. The salary to workers is charged strictly "on a white basis", there is a full social package.

The number of employees during the production season at ZGRP in 2017 is 248 people. The average salary is more than 91 thousand rubles a month.

"They understand our problems"

ZGRP has established strong friendly relations with the local district administration, with which annual agreements on social and economic cooperation have been concluded for many years. Despite the fact that the main task of the enterprise is the production process, ZGRP directs part of the profits to solve social problems local residents. This made it possible to change the social and economic situation for the better. The head of the Bauntovsky district, Nikolay Kovalev, notes that since 2014, the district has annually received from the enterprise gratuitous assistance from 8 to 9 million rubles.

For the period from 2014 to the present, financial assistance has been provided to the Bauntovsky District in the amount of more than 34.5 million rubles. Other areas - more than 14.6 million rubles.

There are many positive moments in the activities of ZGRP in our area. This is the employment of the population - with the advent of the enterprise, official jobs appeared, - says the head of the district, Nikolai Kovalev. - We have a remote and inaccessible area, it leaves its mark. It is good that a large enterprise has entered our territory, and its leaders understand the specifics of the region, the problems and difficulties, and make a great contribution to improving the standard of living.

“I would like to say a huge thank you to the management of the Zabaikalsky Mining Enterprise. Thanks to their financial support, we are able to gradually resolve many urgent social issues,” said Nikolai Kovalev, head of the Bauntovsky district, summing up.

A friend who always helps

Particular attention is paid to the development of the reindeer herding industry. When members of the family-clan Evenk community "Taktykan" bought a herd of several dozen deer in the Trans-Baikal Territory, the question arose: how to bring the animals? ZGRP came to the rescue, allocating more than 100 thousand rubles. Let us also recall the Mordonov family (“IP” has already talked about these amazing people), which was able to exit the population of the Taloi enterprise. Especially for them, ZGRP bought 10 reindeer-producers in the Okinsky district. For reindeer herders, a winter camp was built with warehouses and a power plant. The Mordonovs were taken on the staff of the enterprise. The results were not long in coming - in 2017, the number of animals increased, 53 calves were born. The Mordonovs plan to bring the herd of deer up to 500 heads.

“The enterprise constantly allocates funds for food for shepherds and the purchase of compound feed for deer on distant pastures located 200 or more kilometers from settlements", - said a local resident Albina Nadmitova.

In the Evenk village of Rossoshino, which is located near the Kavokta deposit, social infrastructure has been updated with the support of ZGRP. At the Rossoshinsky school - kindergarten repairs were carried out, the catering unit was put in order, plastic windows were installed, the building was sheathed with metal profiles. The territory has been ennobled, office equipment, furniture, etc. have been purchased. The enterprise provides annual support for the material and technical base of the institution in the amount of 500 thousand rubles. In 2016, assistance was also provided to the library - in the amount of 150 thousand rubles. The local house of culture received 150 thousand rubles, and the necessary camping equipment was purchased for the Dolgan children's speleological club. This year, the pupils of the circle planned an expedition to Lake Baunt. 200 thousand rubles are provided for the implementation of the project.

This is a significant support, after all, the revival and preservation of the culture of small peoples is an important and necessary goal, - says Oksana Tsybikova, director of the Evenki Culture Center.

“Thanks to ZGRP, we were able to provide children with everything they need and switch to federal state standards,” says Valentina Namsaraeva, director of the Rossoshin School-Garden MBOU.

Help is coming!

In the village of Bagdarin, ZGRP annually helps the unique Center of Evenk Culture and National Crafts. Funds are allocated for the repair of the building and roof, heating systems, the company co-finances field events outside the republic. Thus, the children's ensemble "Hoshinkan" annually travels to festivals in Russian cities and wins prizes.

In 2016 - 2017, we laid a separate line to strengthen and support the material and technical base of the Museum of the Peoples of the North of Buryatia. In total, in 2016, 300,000 rubles were allocated from the ZGRP fund, in 2017 - 800,000 rubles. The heating system was repaired, a new boiler was installed. The plans for 2019 include the construction of an annex to the museum, - said Olga Bakumenko, deputy head of the local administration for social issues.

Annually, the mining enterprise allocates funds for the repair of the premises of the only one in the region health camp"Sunrise". With the joint efforts of the district administration and ZGRP, the camp is being brought into line with the requirements of sanitary and fire safety. Funds are steadily allocated for the organization and holding of various events at the district level: Surkharban, the Evenk holiday Bolder, fishing "Northern Lunka", the holiday "Northern all-around", etc.

According to the deputy head of the local administration for social issues, Olga Bakumenko, in 2016, 300 thousand rubles were allocated from the ZGRP fund, in 2017 - 800 thousand rubles. The heating system was repaired and a new boiler installed. The plans for 2019 include the construction of an additional building to the museum.

Roads and medicine

ZGRP is also involved in solving such important tasks as the repair and restoration of local roads and bridges. In 2017 and 2018, funds were allocated for the maintenance and repair of the Baisa-Rossoshino local public road in the amount of 1 million rubles. In addition, 250-300 thousand rubles are annually allocated for the repair of roads in the village of Rossoshino, said the head of the Bauntovsky district, Nikolai Kovalev. For intra-district roads, there is a mandatory dumping. In 2016, 200 thousand rubles are provided for the ZGRP funds. In 2017 - 500 thousand rubles, this year 100 thousand rubles are planned.

And together with the Baunt CRH and with the financial support of ZGRP, it was decided to purchase dental equipment. This will allow residents of the Bauntovsky district to quickly and inexpensively solve the problem of dental treatment. Other projects are also successfully implemented.

Every year, more than one million rubles are allocated for the repair of roads in the Rossoshino village.

"Steel Battle"

Much attention is paid by the management of the enterprise to the support and development of local sports, martial arts. “Thanks to the support of ZGRP, our fighters Bazar Zhalsapov, Ayur Galsanov, Zandan Tsydenov, Anton Opanovich participate in professional MMA tournaments. This year, our fighters took part in international professional tournaments and won everywhere!” - said the general director of the Baikal FC promotion company Anton Buseev.

According to him, on May 12, Ulan-Ude hosted the international professional MMA tournament "Steel Battle", dedicated to the 73rd anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. Last year, ZGRP helped prepare and send the national team of the republic to the Irkutsk region MMA championship among students, and then organized the departure of Semyon Borkhonov to the Russian MMA championship.

“Thanks to ZGRP, we have one of the most equipped halls in Buryatia and the Irkutsk region. Children, students, adults train with us,” says Anton Buseev, general director of the Baikal FC promotion company.

Production and school

Let's note one more important point. In Ulan-Ude, for several years now, the unique processing jade factory of Trade House "Oriental Way" has been operating, which, together with ZGRP, forms the production chain: extraction, enrichment, processing and sale. That is what any serious business strives for.

According to the director of the factory, Valery Blyskavka, the mined jade is very heterogeneous, the content of varietal jade does not exceed 10, in some veins 15%. Moreover, varietal jade is not separate pieces, it is smeared, located inside the rock containing it with crusts, scarns and defects. And in order to isolate varietal jade, production operations are needed to open the stone and enrich it.

Since 2014 and including the 1st quarter of 2018, Oriental Way Trade House has paid more than 106 million rubles of taxes and fees to the budgets of different levels. During the same period, the factory processed over 861 tons of jade.

By law, all mined jade must be put on the balance sheet, regardless of its quality. Low-quality jade must be processed / enriched in civilized conditions in order to significantly increase the amount of commercial jade that can be realized with added value. This is what Oriental Way Trading House is doing, the factory of which now sells not only raw jade purchased from ZGRP, but also enriched jade and products of its own processing. The production capacity of the factory allows processing several hundred tons of jade annually.

The company employs about 50 people. Initially, the factory recruited local residents up to 25 years old. They were simple guys who wanted to learn the complex art of stone cutting. For training, experienced craftsmen from China were invited. Later, on the basis of the factory, a school was opened to train jade processors from local youth.

In the near future, the management of Oriental Way plans to open a new production facility on the basis of the Industrial Park of Buryatia. Thus, in the republic will be laid national school stone-cutting art on jade. However, it is still necessary to learn how to make art products, souvenirs, organize exhibitions, exchange experiences, create and shape traditions. All this is possible under the condition of expanding production on the basis of small enterprises and family artels.

Over the years of work, ZGRP and Oriental Way have created an unusual precedent in the republic. Enterprises were able not only to bring jade out of the shadows and direct the flow of money from its sale into a legal channel with the payment of taxes and duties, but also raised the idea of ​​​​how to run a business to a completely different level. After all, a big and smart business is not only the ability to get profit with less losses, but also social responsibility to its employees and residents of the region.

The republic is developing new measures to curb the illegal circulation of semi-precious stones.

On Tuesday, April 3, it became known about plans to create a stationary post of the FSB border control on the Mondy-Orlik highway in the Okinsky district of Buryatia, where the largest deposits of jade are located. It is assumed that this measure will help reduce the illegal circulation of ornamental stone in the republic, where 95% of all Russian jade is mined. Illegal activities in Buryatia are also facilitated by a great interest in sacred stone by the citizens of the People's Republic of China. Reports regularly appear in the local press about revealed facts of illegal transportation of jade in tons. The authorities of Buryatia have repeatedly tried to solve this problem, since tax revenues from this industry bring significant income to the republican budget. Nevertheless, according to experts, the volume of illegal trafficking is comparable to legal mining. Read the details in the material "Federal Press".

“Theft of jade in Buryatia from distributed and unallocated funds is carried out not only by individuals, but also by a number of organizations,” Bair Angaev, Minister of Natural Resources of the Republic, told FederalPress. – At the same time, such illegal actions are often of a criminal nature and are committed using weapons, explosives and mining equipment. Compared to 2010 last year, the number of criminal cases initiated on the facts of theft of jade from deposits, as well as robberies and robbery attacks on jade mining enterprises increased by 75%.

Jade deposits are found not only in Buryatia, but also in Yakutia, Tuva, the Urals, Kamchatka and other regions of the Russian Federation. However, most of them are currently not of industrial importance, mainly due to the low quality of raw materials. In total, there are currently nine licenses for the development of jade deposits in the republic, three of which are located in the Bauntovsky district, two each in the Muisky, Okinsky and Zakamensky regions. The total volume of jade mined in Buryatia in 2010 amounted to 1 thousand 54 tons, in 2011 - 1 thousand 152 tons.

Accordingly, the amount of taxes paid by the jade mining enterprises of Buryatia is growing every year. Thus, in 2009, tax revenues to the budget system of the Russian Federation from the jade industry amounted to 50.9 million rubles, of which 25.8 million went to the republican budget. In 2010, these figures amounted to 67.6 million and 36.7 million, last year - 77.6 million and 43.6 million rubles, respectively. At the same time, the volume of illegal jade mining is also growing. In 2010-2011, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Buryatia seized more than 24 tons of stone from illegal circulation, and over the past period of 2012, about 16 tons were seized and transferred for storage.

The government of Buryatia has repeatedly applied to the federal authorities with proposals to create a single customs post on the territory of Buryatia for declaring jade throughout the Russian Federation. In this regard, in May last year, the Federal Customs Service entrusted the Ulan-Ude customs post of the Buryat customs with the duty to declare the stone in Siberia. After that, the main volume of jade was declared by the Ural and Far Eastern customs departments, while earlier exports were carried out mainly through the customs of the Siberian department.

However, the government of the republic insists on the original version. In February of this year, the President of Buryatia, Vyacheslav Nagovitsyn, again raised the issue of creating a single customs post for the Russian Federation in Buryatia, referring this initiative to the head of the Siberian Customs Administration, Yuri Ladygin, who promised to bring the request to the attention of the head of the Federal Customs Service.

Another important factor that would help stop illegal jade mining in Buryatia is the tougher penalties for such crimes.

“The fact is that jade does not belong to the category of precious stones, which means that its illegal mining, storage and transportation are not a criminal offense,” the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Buryatia explained to FederalPress. - In this regard, the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs suggested that the republican government come up with a legislative initiative on the adoption of a normative act regulating the procedure for the transportation, circulation and sale of mined jade in the territory of Buryatia, including when it is exported outside the state. At the same time, it is necessary to provide for the possibility of expanding the actions of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on the illegal circulation of precious metals, natural precious stones or pearls, thereby introducing criminal liability for the illegal circulation of jade.

According to Bair Angaev, the government of the region, together with other interested bodies, is already working on proposals to toughen penalties. Meanwhile, as it turned out, malefactors are not easy to bring even to administrative responsibility. “Last year, the republican department of Rosprirodnadzor considered 22 cases related to the unauthorized use of subsoil, but 12 of them were terminated due to the lack of a violation,” said the Minister of Natural Resources. “The fact is that, according to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, in order to be held accountable, the very fact of extracting a stone from the bowels must be established.”

According to the press service of the administration of the Okinsky district, last week a meeting was held on a topical issue chaired by Vyacheslav Nagovitsyn, at which a number of specific proposals were developed to change the situation for the better. “In addition to the creation of an FSB post on the Mondy-Orlik highway in the Okinsky district, it is planned to resume the work of a traffic police post in the Bely Irkut area,” the press service emphasized. “The district administration also intends to apply to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia with a request to allocate additional staff units to organize the operation of the post.”

In addition to using forceful methods, the Ministry of Natural Resources of Buryatia also intends to obtain licensing for all jade deposits in the republic. “This should become the main factor in the decriminalization of the industry,” said Bair Angaev. “At the end of last year, the regional government applied to the Federal Agency for Subsoil Use on the issue of holding tenders for unlicensed areas this year.”

At present, the subsoil use department for Buryatia is updating the list of all deposits, which will be sent to Rosnedra, after which these sites will be put up for auction.