Today it is not necessary to be Indiana Jones - everyone can participate in the process of mining gold and diamonds.

Cullinan Diamond Mine (Pretoria, South Africa)

The South African diamond mine became famous in 1905 when the world's largest 3106 carat Cullinan diamond was found here. The mine is also known as the only rich deposit of rare blue diamonds. The Cullinan adits are located on the site of an extinct volcano, the clay from which is passed through a special grinder that screens out diamonds.

The legendary mine not only continues to operate today, but has also become available to tourists. Visitors are told about mining, shown to an old mining town, offered to buy precious stones. Excursion price: from $10

Berezovsky gold mine (Berezovsky, Russia)

An excursion in one of the mines of the Severnaya mine takes place at a depth of 512 meters. The mine, which is over 250 years old, is considered the longest-running mine in the world. It was here that the first Russian ore gold was found.

During the tour, tourists are introduced to the process of gold mining. At the same time, visitors can try to pan for gold themselves, and at the end, even pick up a piece of rock as a keepsake. The cost of the tour: from 500 to 1100 rubles. from a person.

According to the organizers, nowhere else in the world tourists are allowed to enter the operating gold mines.

Where else can you find gold?

• . At a gold prospecting camp near the town of Jamestown, California, tourists will be taught how to get the right to mine gold, as well as learn how to wash gold and find gold veins.
• . A tourist license for gold mining in Finland costs 300-400 euros for 10-15 days. In the vicinity of the city of Saariselkä, you can explore the 7-kilometer route through abandoned mines.
• . Here, for a few tens of dollars, you can buy a license for gold mining. Found can be freely taken out of the country.
• . A small alluvial gold deposit in the country is not specially worked out, but is used to attract tourists.
• . A license for non-industrial gold mining costs, for example, in Benin $500-1000 for a plot up to 1 km in size, provided that it works with non-industrial equipment.

Lampivaara amethyst mine (Luosto, Finland)

The only one in Europe is located on Mount Lampivaara, not far from the Finnish ski resort of Luosto. Purple stone is mined here by hand. The mine also has a grinding workshop where stones are processed and sorted. The best amethysts are sent to Luosto, where they are made into jewelry, which then goes to local shops. Stones can also be purchased directly from the mine.

Excursion cost: entrance 20 euros (tourists get on foot or on skis), 37 euros (including transportation from Ukko or Luosto), 58 euros (transfer by train).

Emerald Mine (Muzo, Colombia)

About 60% of all emeralds are produced in Colombia. The most beautiful in the world are emeralds from Muzo, where the main stone deposit in the country is located. It was here that in the middle of the 19th century the Devonshire Emerald was found at 1383.95 carats. The miners of the emerald mine - guajeros - extract stones by hand, washing them in the river.

During the tour, tourists visit a mine and a river where guajeros work. You can buy stones at the emerald market, located near the mine. Excursion price: $445 (including 2 overnight stays - in Muzo and in Bogotá).

You can also watch the extraction of emeralds in Russia - in the Urals. Here, Europe's largest malyshevo emerald-beryllium deposit was opened for tourists. Visitors will be shown the place where the first emerald was found and the observation deck of the quarry. Here you can take a master class on processing gems and even look for stones on your own.

Marble quarries (Carrara, Italy)

The world's largest marble deposits are located in the vicinity of the Italian town of Carrara. Marble has been mined in Carrara for over 2,000 years.

It was in Carrara that the great sculptor Michelangelo chose the material for his creations. His most famous statue - David - is made of Carrara marble. This marble can also be found in Russia - it was used in the lining of the underground vestibules of the Moscow metro station Prospekt Marksa (now Okhotny Ryad).

During the tour, tourists will be shown how workers cut off a huge block of marble. In the sculptor's workshop, guests will see what tools they use to work on stone.

The cost of the tour: from 35 euros.

"City of Gems" (Ratnapura, Sri Lanka)

In Ratnapura (translated as “city of gems”), a blue sapphire of 400 carats “Blue Beauty” adorning the English crown, as well as a sapphire “Star of India” of 536 carats were found. In addition to sapphires, rubies, tourmalines, topazes, garnets, amethysts and other stones are mined here. Mining takes place by hand - the rocks are lifted from the mine with ropes and washed in the nearest river in wicker baskets.

Tourists can visit an active mine and a factory for processing precious stones. Guests descend to a depth of 30 meters. The work here is carried out by the light of electric lamps. The descent is carried out along the wooden walls of the vertical shaft, with climbing insurance. The tour also includes a visit to the Ratnapura Museum, which displays the remains of fossil animals found in local mines, as well as a large collection of jewelry. Here you can order the manufacture of any jewelry.

Excursion price: from $50

Uyuni Salt Flat (Bolivia)

The lakes of the famous salt marsh Uyuni (Salar de Uyuni) with a total area of ​​​​more than 10 thousand square kilometers are located in Bolivia at an altitude of 3650 m. Uyuni is all that remains of a huge prehistoric salt lake that covered almost the entire southwest of Bolivia. Salt reserves here are about 10 billion tons. During the rainy season from November to March, the salt marsh is covered with a thin layer of water, creating a very beautiful mirror effect.

Every year, more than 70 thousand tourists come here to see the lake, as well as flocks of pink flamingos, giant cacti, ancient volcanoes and geysers. The 3- and 4-day tours to the salt marsh also include a visit to the Uyuni Train Cemetery, which used to be a major railway hub in Bolivia. Tourists are then taken to the salt-mining area, where the salt is manually scraped from the surface of the salt marsh into heaps weighing a ton or more and left to dry in the sun before being transported to a processing plant.

Excursion price: from $55

Visitors to the salt marsh can stay at one of the nearby salt hotels. The walls of these hotels, as well as their interior decoration, are completely made of salt. There are salt restaurants here, and some of the hotels offer spa services.

Kirunavaara Iron Mine (Kiruna, Sweden)

Kirunavaara is considered the largest mine in the world. About 500 kilometers of tunnels were dug under a small town at a depth of up to 1270 meters. For the first time, iron ore was mined here more than 6 thousand years ago.

The mine continues to grow, and local authorities in 2013 began to move the city away from the mine.

Tourists can go down to a depth of 540 meters and see how iron is mined - here, in the mines of LKAB, a vivid picture of the development of the mining industry is presented. Excursion price: from $50 (including transfer and guide).

Salt mines (Soledar, Ukraine)

In the city of Soledar, Donetsk region, there is a unique salt mine. In addition to the main purpose, the mine is a sanatorium and cultural object. In 2004, there was even a concert of the Donbass Symphony Orchestra "Salt Symphony" here.

Tourists descend into the mine to a depth of 300 meters in an elevator. The whole tour passes through the worked out mines, where everything is made of salt. Near the excursion route at a depth of 288 meters there is a speleosanatorium "Salt Symphony", where bronchopulmonary and allergic diseases are treated, and a church was even built in one of the salt galleries.

The cost of the tour: 240 UAH (1000 rubles).

Mines as an attraction

The reserves of some mines will never be exhausted thanks to the ingenuity of their owners. After closing, many of the existing mines in the world turn into tourist sites and attract travelers, sometimes with very unusual attractions. Many of these mines are even protected (Polish Wieliczka, Brazilian Ouro Preto, Spanish Las Medulas, Swedish Falun).

So, what can you do in mines that have exhausted their natural resources:

• Boat. In an Austrian mine, the tour includes a boat ride on an underground lake formed by an explosion in the adits.
• There is cheese. The cobalt mines in Norway age cheese made in the traditional way. Tourists can look at the places where it is stored and buy it in one of the local stores. This cheese is supplied to the royal family of Norway.
• Ride on a mining train. To do this, tourists descend into the Hallstatt salt mine in Austria. From here, you can also take a nearly vertical funicular up the mountain.
• Improve health. Another salt mine - the Romanian Slanic Prahova - has now become a treatment center: in specially equipped halls at a depth of 208 meters, asthma sufferers are encouraged to inhale the healing air saturated with sodium.
• Hold a wedding or conference. The former Wieliczka salt mine in Poland has been turned into a cultural site since its closure. It also often hosts concerts and sports competitions.
• Stop for the night. An unusual hotel was opened in one of the grottoes of the Swedish silver mine Sala Silvergruva. In The Mine Suite, located at a depth of 155 meters, many pieces of furniture are made from silver mined in a mine.

Photo: thinkstockphotos.com, flickr.com

In the near future, a local resident will appear before the court in the Amur Region, who tried to sell gold found in the forest in the amount of 2.4 million rubles; he faces up to five years in prison. In the gold-bearing regions of Russia, such stories are not uncommon: every now and then there are people who find themselves in the dock for trying to sell gold. Why is it considered a crime for which there are no less sentences than for drug trafficking? Lenta.ru decided to find the answer to this question.

Gold worth the weight of heroin

The Prosecutor's Office of the Amur Region on October 14, which sent to court the case of a resident of the Zeya district, who at the beginning of July 2016 found a jar in the area of ​​the Bolshaya Erakigra River, which contained 880 pieces of the so-called slip (unrefined) gold mined from the ground.

Having discovered the treasure, the citizen hid it in his car and went to the city of Zeya (by the way, founded in 1879 by gold miners) to look for a buyer. The value of the found gold was about 2.4 million rubles. However, the man failed to sell the precious metal: he was detained by law enforcement officers, and the “treasure” was confiscated.

A criminal case was initiated against the unlucky seller under Part 1 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Illegal storage, transportation of precious metals in any form, condition, with the exception of jewelry and household products and scrap of such products, committed on a large scale.” Now he faces up to five years of corrective labor or imprisonment for the same period.

Similar cases in the gold-bearing Amur region happen regularly. So, on March 18, 2015, the Skovorodinsky District Court of the region of a local resident to two years' imprisonment on probation under the same part 1, article 191 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Photo: Evgeny Yepanchintsev / RIA Novosti

The court found that in October 2014, the accused found three black knitted socks near the road in the city of Zeya, in which there were 18 gold bars in the form of hemispheres with a total weight of more than eight kilograms. The man quickly realized that a fortune fell into his hands: according to rough estimates, the cost of the ingots was more than 10.5 million rubles. He hid the gold under the driver's seat of his car and kept it there until the FSB seized the treasure.

What is the risk of doing

With those who are trying to sell the found gold, law enforcement officers do not stand on ceremony. But what is the sign of a crime - the public danger of this act? After all, it would seem that there is nothing reprehensible in a person’s desire to make money on a treasure that has fallen into his hands, and you cannot call it theft ...

“The fact is that a resident of the Amur region found gold not in the form of coins or jewelry. It was slip gold in the form of grains of different sizes. It turns out that this metal was mined from the ground, and all natural resources that are not put into civil circulation belong to the state,” explains lawyer Alexander Prudnikov, who also specializes in the problems of “treasures”.

According to Prudnikov, gold is introduced into civil circulation after specialized enterprises or miners hand it over to the state for processing. Ingots are made from it, which are later transferred either to jewelry factories or used to make coins and other things. If a resident of the Amur region found a jar of coins or any other gold in a processed form, it would be a completely different situation, and he would not fall under the criminal article.

“What is the social danger of such an act as the sale of raw gold is a mystery shrouded in darkness. It is possible to sell gold coins or jewelry, but yellow metal mined from the ground is not allowed, although it is not clear what the damage from such an action is for the state,” complains treasure hunter Vladimir Poryvaev.

Re-laundering of gold

The expert claims that a resident of the Amur region, who found a jar of gold, could have escaped punishment. To do this, he had to inform the police and local authorities about his find. Those could qualify it either as a treasure or as a find. The treasure has historical and cultural value, these are things hidden on purpose, and for quite a long time. The one who found the treasure is entitled to 50 percent of the value of the treasure. The remaining 50 percent goes to the owner of the land. If the experts qualified the jar of gold as a find, then the inhabitant of the Amur region would have to wait for the appearance of its owner for eight months. And only in the event that he did not show up, the gold would officially find its owner. However, according to Poryvaev, there have actually been no such cases in the recent history of Russia.

“Formally, he was supposed to report his discovery to the authorities, but right away everything is clear what kind of gold, where the gold comes from ... In the gold-bearing regions of Russia, such dealers are caught every year. They always say: I found; rode - and found; walked - and found; dug worms for fishing - and found. But everyone understands the rules of the game. This is such a serious group that has been holding "shadow" gold since Soviet times. Its participants are regularly caught, but the yellow metal with which they are tied is easier for businessmen to lose - they will still wash it, ”explains the interlocutor of Lenta.ru.

Legislators fight for metal

Meanwhile, the ban on gold mining by private individuals, adopted today in Russia, did not always exist. In tsarist times and even in the era of the USSR, there was the so-called "liberation" - the extraction of precious metals and stones by ordinary citizens. They were allowed to work primarily in places of no industrial interest: on dumps and mining waste. Produced prospectors had to hand over to the state.

On the one hand, largely due to free-giving, gold mining in the USSR remained at a consistently high level. On the other hand, at the gold-receiving cash desks they often did not ask where exactly the yellow metal came from. It was enough for fraudsters to cross the threshold of the cash register to legalize the stolen gold, and sometimes they stole it from enterprises, and tens of kilograms, without even fearing that such a crime was punishable by the highest measure - execution.

Critics of free-bringing considered that in this form it actually encourages illegal mining and theft of gold. After all, if no one asks where it came from, what difference does it make how to get it? As a result, free gold mining in the USSR was banned in 1954. Since then, the debate about whether it is worth resuming it has not subsided. An attempt to resurrect free-giving was made in 2004, when the State Duma introduced an amendment “On the free bringing of gold” to the law “On Subsoil”. However, the president vetoed it. Attempts to return the free supply of gold were also made at the local level: for example, in the Magadan region several years ago they tried to introduce local legal acts, according to which individuals were allowed to mine gold at the site of technogenic placers. Then production increased by 700 kilograms, and the shadow turnover decreased.

However, according to the document, such mining will have a number of restrictions: gold reserves in the area allocated for miners cannot exceed 10 kilograms, and the total area of ​​such areas is 15 hectares. At the same time, freemen will be prohibited from carrying out blasting and digging deeper than five meters, as well as using equipment and machinery and engaging contractors on a contractual basis.

According to Vladimir Poryvaev, the return of free-bringing would only benefit the country's economy: “Free circulation of gold is a good alternative to the dollar. I would not ban the free mining of the yellow metal, but on the contrary, I would make people invest more in it. Gold is an investment tool that has existed for centuries, and now, given the difficult situation in the world, it would be nice to remember it.”

In the Russian Federation, gold mining by individuals is prohibited. A bill that would allow all willing citizens to engage in small-scale mining has been considered in the Duma for almost seven years! Meanwhile, illegal gold mining in Russia is booming. It is, according to some sources, up to ten percent of the total gold production in the country.

There was a short period in the history of the Russian Federation when the extraction of precious metals and stones was allowed to all citizens of Russia. In 1992, such a bill was passed. Belatedly earned gold-receiving cash desks in Buryatia and Magadan.

And in 1998, the law was repealed: from that time on, only organizations that received licenses could engage in gold mining.

Illegal gold mining

In 2002, the governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Alexander Lebed, developed amendments and additions to the law "On Precious Metals and Precious Stones". Lebed offered not only to organizations, but also to individuals, who must obtain licenses for this. He was supported by the governor of the Magadan region Valentin Tsvetkov. The bill was submitted to the State Duma, but it was not adopted.

A new draft law "On alluvial gold mining by individual entrepreneurs" under the number 429535-5 appeared in 2010. It was adopted in the first reading, then the situation stalled. Meanwhile, the law is needed, and many in the gold-mining regions from the Urals to Magadan are waiting for it.

The number of deposits and mines in the country that are not of industrial importance, but they contain some amount of gold, is in the thousands. they only benefit small businesses. A large organization will not go there, because it is not economically profitable for it to work at a facility where, for example, gold reserves are less than 10 kilograms. Therefore, such small deposits become the object of illegal extraction of precious metals.

In Russia, illegal miners extract metal from alluvial deposits. Few people are engaged in mining in vein deposits. This practice is common in Kazakhstan, where people risk their lives by climbing into abandoned mines or paying guards to let them into protected mines.

A hundred years ago, 90 percent of the precious metal was mined from placers, today - no more than 14 percent. But industrial gold mining is mainly focused on the development of vein deposits.

Predators or miners?

Predators are people who mine gold without licenses and permits. The word was known even in pre-revolutionary Russia, since even in those days not everyone could get a license.

The predator's equipment has changed little over the century. This is a pick, a shovel, a tray, primitive devices for. Few people use expensive modern means, as they can be taken away. And not only law enforcement agencies, but also crime.

All predators dream of getting rich, but only a few succeed. Even if a black prospector attacked a gold-bearing area, selling what he found is a big problem. Most often, the predator itself becomes a victim of crime or envious fellow prospectors.

On the Internet, you can easily find a lot of stories about successful prospectors who received sentences for their work, and the gold was confiscated. A man in Buryatia washed gold all summer, and washed up about three kilograms. He was caught on the highway by FSB officers. Most likely, the lucky predator was handed over by his own prospector friends. The man was sentenced to two years probation and the gold was confiscated.

Extraction of precious metal with the help of a tray is the hardest work. But he is illegal in Russia. Many miners die at the hands of bandits or in the taiga, left without help.

People do not become predators because of a good life. In search of many, it is not a thirst for adventure that drives them, but unemployment, a natural desire to feed their families.

The legalization of alluvial gold mining could solve a lot of problems.

• eliminate unemployment in many settlements;
• to attract people to the regions of Siberia and the Far East, from where there is now a massive outflow of the population;
• increase the production of precious metals in the country;
• to fill the budget due to the delivery of legal gold by the population.

The artisanal method of extraction is very promising in many regions of Russia. Prospectors often find new deposits, such precedents often happened in other countries. Many residents of Buryatia, the Magadan region are ready for non-industrial placers, but they are held back by only one factor - their activities will be considered illegal.

The best way to legalize illegal gold mining is to sell licenses, as in Australia. A license to search and mine gold here can be bought online for $30. Many tourists are drawn to this simple scheme and travel to the fifth continent in search of gold. How much each tourist finds on average is modestly kept silent by Australian statistics, but any find of a nugget becomes the property of the press. Due to this, tourism in Australia is booming.

Illegal in many countries. Millions of people in Africa and Asia wash sand every day or climb into adits and mines at their own peril and risk. In Mongolia and Kazakhstan, black prospecting is widespread, but few people are punished for their activities. In Peru, a quarter of the gold is mined illegally.

Illegal gold mining flourishes in South Africa and Ghana. According to some reports, about a million is illegally mined in South Africa alone. But the miners cannot sell gold at a normal price in their own country and travel to Zimbabwe. Gold miners earn no more than five dollars a day.

Illegal business does not bring income to diggers and the state in any country in the world. Developing countries that are interested in the development of gold mining soften their laws and encourage mining. In many civilized countries, they do not neglect the extraction of precious metals in an artisanal way and sell licenses without red tape and delay.

Punishment for illegal mining

If a miner mined 20 grams of gold in the taiga with tireless work and was caught “hot”, does he face criminal liability? Most likely no.

The illegal circulation of precious metals in our country was partially decriminalized in 2011.

According to Article 19.14 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, administrative liability is provided for violation of the established rules for the extraction, production, use, circulation, receipt, accounting and storage of precious metals.

But the gold will be confiscated and a fine of 3,000 to 5,000 rubles will be imposed. It does not provide for the confiscation of equipment.

Criminal liability occurs in the event of the discovery of precious metals in large amounts - in the amount of more than a million rubles.

But if a prospector is caught on someone else's deposit, he is unlikely to get off with a fine, in which case he faces criminal liability. After all, the deposit is someone's property.

The Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia proposes to allow individual entrepreneurs to mine alluvial gold. Public discussion of amendments to the Federal Law "On Precious Metals and Precious Stones" and the Law "On Subsoil" has already begun.

And in the Magadan region, which is to become a pilot region for free artisanal prospecting, they are eagerly waiting for the free bring, says Governor Vladimir Pecheny.

Free prospecting is always relevant, because the state does not incur costs, but will receive profits, - the participants of the Prospector's Luck, a gold panning competition taking place in Kolyma, told RG. - There are many worked-out areas where no enterprise will work, because the volumes of metal there are not industrial. But if there is a gram of gold left, a person with a tray will come and pick it up - for his own income, and he will also pay taxes.

By the way, it is estimated that over 80 years of exploitation of alluvial deposits in Kolyma, about 500 million cubic meters of waste have been formed, which are suitable for re-mining. According to estimates, they can produce about a ton of metal, or four percent of the current annual production in the region.

With two hands for free bringing, - says Olga Medvedeva from the dying village of Burkhala, which is 600 kilometers from Magadan. - There is practically no work. Pensioners who previously worked at the mine and are familiar with the artisanal business would have laundered an addition to their pensions. I think that three grams a day is quite realistic to get.

10 percent - this is the share of illegal gold mining in Russia

With the market price of the metal at 2,400 rubles per gram, the villagers are ready to rent it to official structures for 1,500-1,800 rubles.

The bill proposes to wash gold in an old-fashioned way, because it is forbidden to use machines.

This is an unprofessional, in my opinion, idea that mining can only be carried out with a tray, without the use of small-scale mechanization, - Yuri Pruss, head of the Magadan Innovation and Technology Center of the North-Eastern KRI them. ON THE. Shilo FEB RAS. - With a tray, well, you get a couple of grams a day. On the contrary, it is necessary to use machinery, especially since small excavators are being produced that cause minimal damage to nature.

Those who live "on gold" have dozens of different ways to extract the "sand" in their arsenal. . Photo: Vitaly Ivanov / TASS

It's no secret that individuals still mine the precious metal. Those who live "on gold" have dozens of simple and ingenious ways to extract the "sand" in their arsenal.

Three rubber mats, a mesh from an old bed, a generator, a pump and a dozen boards - that's all I need to build a flushing device, - Sergey, a former mining master from the Yagodninsky district, shares his technology. - I can assemble it in a couple of hours, and disassemble it, if there is any noise, in 20 minutes. With good skills and luck for the season, you can wash it for an apartment in warm regions. And you need to go to the old dumps without unnecessary troubles with a metal detector.

It is no secret that individuals still mine the precious metal, but illegally

It is estimated that the annual volume of illegal gold mining in Russia is about ten percent of legal production.

The mass organization of individuals can lead to the criminalization of this area, - believes Viktor Tarakanovsky, chairman of the Union of Miners of Russia.

But Yuri Pruss objects: "This view surprises me. "Predator" is a hardworking person who works 12-14 hours a day, does not go to the "mainland" for decades, supports his family and does not demand anything from the state. These are people who can ensure their existence by their own work. These are people who in our time - the time of "white collars" - are so lacking in the state.

But we must take into account: if many people go for free bread, there will not be enough people in the mining enterprises, - says the head of the Polevaya artel, Nikolai Derezhenets.

Meanwhile, experts suggest linking free delivery with new tools for the development of the Far East. “We need to lease out the claims - exhausted mines, dumps,” suggests Pruss. “Let a person mine metal there, sell it and pay taxes. The tenant can additionally take land in this claim, set up a vegetable garden, hunt, collect wild plants, receive tourists. in fact, here is a ready-made scheme for the development of the "Far Eastern hectare" in Kolyma.

By the way

In the late 90s of the last century, the administration of the Magadan region tried to legalize private miners. Gold receiving points were organized, where anyone could anonymously hand over the valuable metal to the state. But at the request of the prosecutor's office, they were closed.

Kavchik B.K., Candidate of Geology and Mathematics, Irgiredmet

How much money do you need for a gold mining business

Gold is mined from alluvial and primary (ore) deposits. It is advisable to start gold mining in alluvial deposits. They require less capital investment and are less risky for the investor.

Industrial gold mining from placers requires investments of about 10-100 million rubles, mainly for the purchase of machinery and equipment. The minimum investment (up to 10 million rubles) may be when working under a contract on someone else's site. At the same time, the risks are relatively small: if any problems arise, the equipment can be picked up and moved to another site. At the same time, investments that cannot be returned are minimal.

For independent development of a new alluvial deposit, investments of about 50-100 million rubles are required.

Industrial mining of ore goldrequires 15-20 million dollars, only at the first stages of work: for exploration, research and design. The construction of the mine will require another 50-200 million dollars to be invested. The investment cycle at ore deposits is long, gold mining will not start in less than 5 years, and the payback period of the project may be 10 years or more. In this regard, investments in ore are more risky than in placers: a longer term means a greater risk. An example is the Natalka deposit in the Magadan region. Polyus Gold invested a lot of money in it over 10 years, built a mine and a factory, and the price of gold fell in 2013. Gold mining began only in 2017.

How to find a deposit for gold mining

1. The fastest way to buy an existing gold mine, which already has a license and agreed documents for the extraction of alluvial gold (land allotment, mining project, etc.). Gold mining enterprises are sold quite often, especially small ones with one or two licenses. The main reason for the sale is the lack of mining equipment or working capital. Banks are reluctant to lend to small businesses. License holders often find themselves in a hopeless situation: for inaction, the license should be taken away, and there is no money for work.

To find and choose a good enterprise, place an ad in the Zolotodobycha magazine or on this website:

"I will buy a gold mining enterprise"

“I will buy an enterprise that has a license for gold mining”

In the text of the ad, specify where and what kind of enterprise you need. For example, “I will buy an enterprise that has a license for the extraction of alluvial gold in the Republic of Buryatia.”

After receiving the offers, you can choose what suits you best in terms of conditions and price. You can buy the company in its entirety, or you can buy a share of the company in order to receive part of the mined gold or part of the profit.

2. It is possible not to buy an enterprise, but to conclude an agreement with the license holder to develop its deposit or site. This is the cheapest option. The legal entity - the owner of the license has the right to mine gold independently, as well as to conclude agreements with other legal entities. The registration of all documents and permits is carried out by the owner of the license. The mined gold also belongs to the owner of the license, and the one who works on someone else's site must hand over the gold to him. The license holder will pay the contractor for the extracted gold at the price specified in the contract or under a production sharing agreement.

To find an enterprise, give or in the magazine "":

“I will rent a plot for gold mining”

Indicate the area and your capabilities: the availability of equipment, specialists.

Contracts between legal entities are quite widespread. Especially often, large enterprises give under the contract unfinished or remote areas to small artisanal artels with a pair of bulldozers and a flushing device.

Buying a placer or working under a contract is a real option to get gold in a few months.

3. Buying a placer license at an auction is currently less attractive. There are almost no good placers at auctions. They can offer something like: “the right tributary of the Veseliy river with predicted resources of category P2 - 140 kg or “The upper reaches of the stream. Wide - predicted resources of category P3 - 40 kg, etc. Forecast resources are "whether it will be or not." And they offer you to find out for your money. After purchasing a license, you will be required to conduct exploration, count, and approve reserves, if any. If there are no stocks, then no one will return the money to you. Consumer Rights Act does not apply here.

At best, you can start gold mining in 2-3 years, having spent about 10-20 million rubles on exploration and other work.

Due to the lack of good objects at auctions, it is more attractive to purchase an enterprise that has a license. You can get a good deposit with proven and approved reserves and quickly extract real gold.

Optimal sequence of actions

It is necessary to start a business with an assessment of your financial capabilities and the choice of an object for them that provides a return of funds and a profit within a timeframe acceptable to you. In terms of financial opportunities, the main options are as follows.

- If you don't have money to invest and you're hoping to make money out of gold by investing nothing but your own labor, you'd better get a job with an established business. Write a few words about yourself in the section: .

- In the presence of 3-10 million rubles. it is possible to start gold mining under an agreement with an existing gold mining enterprise for the development of a separate area. This is a good option for starting a business.

- Funds up to 30-50 million rubles., you can invest in an enterprise that already has a license and needs funds for production. That is, to enter the business by buying a share in the enterprise.

- 50-100 million rubles allow you to buy an enterprise at the "zero" stage of work or unprofitable, and transform it into a profitable one through technical modernization.

- If investments are possible (50-100 million rubles) for several years, then you can purchase a new object at the auction.

1. The choice of the field. You can still find a good placer () now, and you need to choose the one that will allow you to achieve high profitability. It's not worth taking anything just because it's close to home. This placer can be complex in structure, require increased capital investments and, at the same time, be unprofitable. To evaluate placers and select the most promisingneeded, first of all,

The presence of a geological report on the object and approved reserves is not enough. Reserves can be either less or more than calculated by exploration. It's good when there is more gold, but sometimes less. An experienced geologist should help in assessing the object, if necessary, carry out verification work. In addition, the geologist must collect data for mining design and enrichment.

The choice of an object for acquisition must be taken as carefully as possible. If you intend to invest millions of dollars in a business, then saving on collecting information is not worth it. The more options you find, the more you will be able to choose a good deposit and make a profitable investment. Give a few ads, invite an experienced specialist to evaluate the proposals received. Choose the best.

An ore deposit requires investments of tens and hundreds of millions of dollars. For the selection and evaluation of an ore object, it is advisable to involve specialized firms and the best geologists, although this is not cheap.

2. The second most important thing is mining. Perhaps, at first glance, this is not the most difficult thing, since the mining technology is well known. In any city, pits are being dug for houses and other objects. But mining on placers and in construction are fundamentally different. In construction, the cost of a cube is insignificant, since its share in the cost of a house is negligible. At placers, mining is the main cost item. Therefore, a well-calculated and economical mining project is needed, taking into account the specific characteristics of the placer and with economic calculation. Contact the experts.

3. The third thing is the execution and approval of documents. If you do not draw up paperwork correctly, you will have to pay fines and you can earn serious trouble if representatives of regulatory authorities follow the letter of the law.

4. Fourth, the organization of production, including its financing. Constant control over expenses is necessary so that the money does not run out at the most inopportune moment, and they are enough for good equipment suitable for the facility. The acquisition of cheap second-hand equipment often ruins the best business. The cost of a cubic meter of displaced rock mass increases when using old equipment. The equipment must ensure trouble-free operation during the season (4-5 months). A cheap flushing device can also spoil the case due to large losses of gold.