The president approved amendments on October 28 adopting criminal liability for repeated mining (including artisanal mining) of minerals without a permit.
Previously, mining (as well as artisanal mining) without a permit had been subjected to fines of 30 to 50 basic calculation units, and for officials - from 50 to 100 basic calculation units (BCU=375 thousand soums).
Repeated violation within a year after the fine had provided for the confiscation of property used in committing the violation, and the size of fines increased: for citizens - from 50 to 70 basic calculation units, for officials - from 100 to 150 BCUs. Now such fines and confiscation will be applied for the first violation.
Criminal liability has been adopted for illegal mining of minerals, with the exception of groundwater and minerals located in river beds, committed after an administrative penalty.
This is punishable by a fine of 100 to 300 BCUs, mandatory community works for up to 360 hours, correctional labor for up to 3 years, or house arrest or imprisonment of 1 to 3 years.
If the actions related to illegal extraction resulted in major damage or were committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, the punishment shall be tougher: a fine of 300 to 500 BCUs, house arrest or imprisonment for a term of 3 to 5 years.
In cases where the damage from illegal mining is assessed as particularly large, or the crime was committed by an organized group or in its interests, the punishment is imprisonment for a term of 5 to 8 years.
Similar penalties are provided for artisanal mining of minerals without a permit.
Amendments have also been made to the Administrative Liability Code, expanding the powers of the Authority for Control in the Mining Industry and Geology under the Ministry of Geology. Now, officials of the inspectorate can draw up administrative violation sheets on the fact of mining without a permit, including Authority mining without a permit, and send them to court.
During the discussion of the amendments in the Senate in August, it was reported that there were 2,676 mineral deposits in Uzbekistan, of which more than 2,000 are mined by business entities on the basis of permits.
Over 300 permits were issued during 2019-2023 in the field of artisanal mining of precious metals (permitted since March 2019).
While, in 2023, more than 100 cases of illegal mining of precious metals were identified in the country. Criminal cases were launched against 79 individuals in the Jizzakh, Samarkand, Navoi and Tashkent provinces.
