Putin signs law to restrict access to mineral deposit maps
MOSCOW. Dec 29 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law restricting access to special maps/diagrams containing information on mineral deposits, with the corresponding amendments being rendered to Articles 3 and 25 of the Russian Federation Law "On Subsoil".
The document has been posted on the official website of legal information and comes into force on the day of its official publication.
The adopted law stipulates that access to special maps/diagrams indicating mineral deposits, the boundaries, and the boundaries of subsoil plots granted for use will be granted only to users authorized in the unified portal for government services (Gosuslugi) and registered in the Unified Fund of Geological Information federal government information system.
The Federal Subsoil Resources Management Agency (Rosnedra) has rendered the corresponding maps publicly available so that entities owning land plots outside the boundaries of populated areas could obtain information about the presence of mineral deposits within their boundaries. The information is particularly necessary during preparations for major construction projects.
Applicants will not have access to the entire map under the new procedure. They will only be provided information regarding their plots by coordinates, and in a "yes/no" format on whether mineral reserves are present or absent.
There has been an observable trend toward closed information on deposits since the beginning of the year. Previously publicly available resources of the Russian federal geological fund (Rosgeolfond), including registers of subsoil plots and licenses, geological exploration work, and so on, began requiring authorization through Gosuslugi in February. In May, government order No. 679 "On suspending paragraph 21 of the Regulation on the Unified Fund of Geological Information on Subsoil federal government information system" was published, restricting access to these resources until the end of 2027. In June, the list of information accessible even to authorized users was significantly reduced. Thus, the register of subsoil plots and licenses now only contains information on the license number, the date it was assigned, and the region and federal district where the subsoil plot is located.
