ASTANA – Deposits of gold, coal, iron, copper, hydrocarbons, bauxites, poly metals, and other materials have been returned to the state fund, First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar said at an Aug. 3 meeting on returning solid minerals and hydrocarbon deposits to state ownership, reported the Prime Minister’s press service.
Photo credit: orda.kz.
According to Sklyar, subsequent deposit auctions are held to provide additional investments in subsoil use. A signature bonus worth 1.5 billion tenge (US$3.3 million) was paid to the country’s budget following this year’s auctions. New investments in hydrocarbon exploration will exceed 15.7 billion tenge (US$35.1 million).
All interested investors can participate in the auctions for granting the right to subsoil use, Sklyar noted. All information can be found in national newspapers and on the websites of government agencies.
During the revision of the contracts and licenses of subsoil users who violated their terms, the authorized bodies terminated 118 contracts, including 19 from the beginning of 2023, 245 solid minerals licenses, with 42 canceled this year, and 27 hydrocarbon raw materials contracts, with 15 licenses rescinded in the past seven months.
As part of the work on applying penalties to subsoil users who violated financial obligations, the authorized bodies recovered 934 million tenge (US$2 million) worth of solid minerals licenses to the state budget, of which 603 million (US$1.3 million) was returned this year.
In addition, a debt valued at 1.94 billion tenge (US$4.3 million) was repaid under nine hydrocarbon raw materials contracts.
