Administrative barriers to the development of unaccounted-for placer gold reserves in the regions of the Far East

This article examines the issue of the legal qualification of mineral extraction from unrecorded reserves in the Russian Federation. The relevance of the topic is driven by the increasing number of claims from regulatory and supervisory authorities against gold mining companies that extract metal outside approved balance contours, especially given the absence of a clear definition for the term «unrecorded reserves» in the regulatory framework. The aim of the work is to identify administrative barriers hindering the rational development of the mineral resource base and to propose ways to overcome them. Based on an analysis of regulatory documents and law enforcement practice, a distinction is drawn between balance, off-balance, and unrecorded reserves. It is shown that the latter possess confirmed geological information but are not registered on the state balance sheet. Regional specifics of the problem in the Magadan Region, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), and the Trans-Baikal Territory are examined. Key contradictions are identified: minerals extracted from unrecorded reserves are subject to taxation, yet the extraction itself is qualified as a violation; the lengthy nature of additional exploration procedures (up to 1.5 years) makes the development of small deposits economically unfeasible. The conclusion is drawn that there is a systemic conflict between the principles of rational subsoil use and rigid administrative practice. The necessity is substantiated for simplifying the procedure for extracting unrecorded reserves within licensed areas, updating the methodological framework for accounting, and developing public-private partnerships for the development of low-profit placer deposits.

Chernyakov V. E. Administrative barriers to the development of unaccounted-for placer gold reserves in the regions of the Far East. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2026;(5): 173-179. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2026_5_0_173.

V.E. Chernyakov, Researcher, General Director, Association AZDC «Gold of Yakutia», Moscow, Russia, Member of the Supreme Mining Council, e-mail: info.yazoloto@bk.ru, Research ID: JVO-9017-2024, ORCID: 0009-0000-6074-0156.

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